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Presented   bTWs'.^  >J ■^m~S^ SC/CAVO OX-q V\ c/V 


Divii 


Section 


MINISTRY  AND  ORDINANCES 


CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 


SEMOIS 


ON    THK 


MINISTRY  AND  ORDINANCES 


OF 


THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 


BY 


THE    RIGHT    REJITreND    FATHER    IN    GOD, 

WILLIAM    BEVERIDGE,  D.  D 

LORD  BISHOP  OF  ST.  ASAPH. 


THIRD    EDITION. 


NEW-YORK  : 
C.  SHEPARD,   191  BROADWAY. 

1847. 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  I. 

Page  13. 

Christ's  presence  with  his  ministers. 

Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

And,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  tJte  world. 

SERMON  II. 

Page  45. 

THE    institution    OF    MINISTERS. 

Actsi.  26. 

And  they  gave  forth  their  lots,  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias. 
And  he  was  numbered  with  the  eleven  Apostles, 

SERMON  III. 

Page  68. 

SALVATION    IN    THE    CHl'RCH    ONLY,   UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTRY. 

Acts  ii.  47. 
And  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  IV. 

Page  105. 

MINISTERS    OF    THE    GOSPEL,   CHRIST's    AMBASSADORS. 

2  Cor.  V.  20. 

Now  then  ice  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did 
beseech  you  by  us  ;  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  reconciled 
to  God. 

SERMON  V. 

Page  124. 

A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS    TO   EE    USED    BY    MINISTERS. 

2  Tim.  i.  13. 

Holdfast  the  form  of  sound  words  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me, 

in  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

SERMON  VI. 

Page  150. 

STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED   CHURCH    RECOMMENDED. 

1  Cor.  XV.  58. 
Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  unmoveahle, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lood,  forasmuch  as  ye 
know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

SERMON  VII. 

Page  176. 

ADMISSION    INTO    THE     CHURCH    OF    CHRIST,    BY    BAPTISM, 
NECESSARY    TO    SALVATION. 

John  iii.  5. 
Jesus  answered.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  he 
born  of  ivater  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God. 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

SERMON  VIII. 

Page  194. 

THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

'0  yug  iadicov  aal  nivcov   dcva^ia)g,  xgtfia  kavico  iadlec    xul 
Txivei,  fi-q  diaxoivojv  t6  Gwua  xov   Kvglov. 

1  Cor.  xi.  29. 

For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh 
damnation  to  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body. 

SERMON  IX. 

Page  221. 

UNIVERSAL    OBEDIENCE    REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION. 

Luke  i.  6. 

And  they  were  both  righteous  before  God, •^miking  in  all  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless. 

SERMON  X. 

Page  247. 

ADVANTAGES    OF    PUBLIC    WORSHIP. 

Psalms  cxxii.  1. 

/  was  gild  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of 
the  Lord. 


VUl  CONTENTS. 

SERMON  XI. 

Page  269. 

THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING. 

1  Cor.  ix.  27. 

Bui  1  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection  ;  test  that 
by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  1  myself  shotUd 
be  a  cast-away. 


PREFACE. 


This  great  and  good  Bishop  had  very  early  addicted  himself 
to  piety,  and  a  religious  course  of  life ;  and  as  his  piety  was  early, 
so  it  was  very  eminent  and  conspicuous  in  all  the  parts  and  sta- 
tions of  his  life.  As  he  had  formed  such  good  "resolutions,  he 
made  suitable  improvements  upon  them  ;  and  they  at  length  grew 
up  into  such  settled  habits,  that  all  his  actions  savored  of  nothing 
but  piety  and  religion.  His  holy  example  was  a  very  great 
ornament  to  our  Church,  and  he  honored  his  profession  and  func- 
tion, by  zealously  discharging  all  the  duties  thereof.  How 
remarkable  was  his  piety  towards  God  !  What  an  awful  sense 
of  the  Divine  Majesty  did  he  always  express  !  How  did  he 
delight  in  his  worship  and  service,  and  frequent  his  house  of 
prayer !  How  great  was  his  charity  to  men,  how  earnestly  was 
he  concerned  for  their  welfare,  as  his  pathetic  addresses  to  them 
in  his  Discourses  plainly  discover  I  How  did  the  Christian  spirit 
run  through  all  his  actions,  and  what  a  wonderful  pattern  was 
he  of  primitive  purity,  holiness,  and  devotion  ! 

How  his  mind  was  affected  at  his  first  entrance  into  holy 
Orders,  may  be  seen  by  the  Thoughts  on  Religion,  which  were 
about  that  time  drawn  up  by  him,  for  the  settling  his  principles, 
and  the  conduct  of  his  life.  And  what  might  not  be  expected 
from  one  who  had  laid  so  good  a  foundation .' 

And  truly  he  more  than  answered  the  great  hopes  he  had 
given  the  world  sufficient  reason  to  entertain  concerning  him  ;  he 
constantly  put  the  good  resolutions  he  had  made  in  practice,  and 
pressed  on  still  towards  perfection  :  he  took  all  imaginable  care 
to  fulfil  the  ministry  he  had  received,  and  spared  no  pains  to  do 


X  PREFACE. 

good  to  the  souls  of  men  :  he  was  instant  in  season,  and  out  of 
season,  and  unwearied  in  his  preaching  and  private  exhortations. 

From  the  time  he  was  constituted  parish  priest,*  he  ear- 
nestly desired  and  endeavored  to  render  his  flock  a  pattern  to 
others  for  true  piety  and  holiness.  "  How  happy,"  said  he,  upon 
his  entrance  upon  this  good  work,  "  should  I  think  myself,  if  it 
would  please  God  to  make  me,  the  unworthiest  of  his  servants, 
an  instrument  in  his  almighty  hand,  towards  the  effecting  of  it 
in  this  place !"  Accordingly,  he  revived  the  primitive  practice 
among  them,  of  administering  the  Sacrament  to  them  every 
Lord's  day ;  and  was  so  diligent  and  faithful  in  the  discharc:e  of 
every  part  of  his  office,  and  had  his  labors  crowned  with  such 
remarkable  success,  that  as  he  himself  was  deservedly  styled, 
TTie  great  reviver  and  restorer  of  primitive  piety,  so  his  parish, 
becoming  by  this  means  very  exemplary  for  holiness  and  a 
Christian  conversation,  was  justly  proposed  as  the  best  model 
and  pattern  for  the  rest  of  its  neighbors  to  follow.  I  cannot  here 
omit  one  particular  instance  of  the  success  of  his  labors.  One 
of  his  flock,  when  he  was  near  his  end,  expressed  a  wonderful 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  and  very  little  fear  of  death ; 
great  comfort  in  reflecting  upon  the  better  part  of  his  life,  es- 
pecially his  charity  to  the  poor,  and  much  zeal  in  recommending 
that  duty  to  those  about  him  ;  and,  above  all,  a  very  delightful 
anticipation  of  those  ecstacies  of  joy  and  happiness  which  he 
was  going  to  in  another  world  ;  and  an  uncommon  and  enlarged 
understanding  of  the  great  mysteries  of  religion  :  and  in  the 
midst  of  these  holy  raptures,  he  owned  his  great  obligations  to 
Dr.  Beveridge,  for  those  spiritual  blessings. 

Thus  vigilant  and  faithful  was  he  in  the  cure  of  his  single 
parish  ;  and  when  he  was  advanced  to  higher  stations  in  the 
Church,  his  care  and  diligence  increased  in  proportion.  He  was 
very  faithful  in  watching  over  both  clergy  and  laity,  imparting 
to  them  all  necessary  instructions  for  the  regular  discharge  of 
their  respective  duties.  As  soon  as  ever  he  was  advanced  to  the 
episcopal  dignity,  he,  in  a  most  pathetic  and  obliging  Letter  to 
the  Clergy  of  his  diocese,  recommended  to  them  "  the  duty  of 

♦  At  St.  Ptter's,  Comhill 


PREFACE.  XI 

catechising  and  instructing  the  people  committed  to  their  charge 
in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  to  the  end  they  might 
know  what  they  were  to  believe  and  do  in  order  to  salvation : " 
and  told  them,  "  he  thought  it  necessary  to  begin  with  that, 
without  which,  whatever  else  he  or  they  should  do,  would  turn 
to  little  or  no  account,  as  to  the  main  end  of  the  ministry."  And 
to  enable  them  to  do  this  the  more  effectually,  he  sent  them  a 
plain  and  easy  Exposition  upon  the  Church  Catechism.  In  short, 
he  so  behaved  himself  all  along  in  the  discharge  of  this  high 
fmiction,  that  he  approved  himself  a  truly  primitive  Prelate. 

As  he  was  remarkable  for  his  great  piety  and  zeal  for  religion, 
so  he  was  highly  to  be  esteemed  for  his  learning,  which  he 
wholly  applied  to  promote  the  interest  of  his  great  Master.  He 
was  one  of  extensive  and  almost  universal  reading :  he  was  well 
skilled  in  the  oriental  languages,  and  the  Jewish  learning,  as  may 
appear  from  many  of  his  Sermons :  and  indeed  he  was  furnished 
to  a  very  eminent  degree  wifh  all  useful  knowledge. 

He  was  very  much  to  be  admired  for  his  readiness  in  the 
Scriptures :  he  had  made  it  his  business  to  acquaint  himself  tho- 
roughly with  those  sacred  oracles,  whereby  he  was  furnished 
unto  all  good  works ;  he  was  able  to  produce  suitable  passages 
from  them  on  all  occasions,  and  was  very  happy  in  explaining 
them  to  others. 

Thus  he  improved  his  time  and  his  abilities  in  serving  God, 
and  doing  good,  till  he  arrived  at  a  good  old  age,  when  it  pleased 
his  great  Master  to  give  him  rest  from  his  labors,  and  to  assign 
him  a  place  in  those  mansions  of  bliss,  where  he  had  always 
laid  up  his  treasure,  and  to  which  his  heart  had  been  all  along 
devoted,  throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  life  and  actions.  He 
was  so  highly  esteemed  among  all  learned  and  good  men,  that, 
when  he  was  dying,  one  of  the  chief  of  his  order  deservedly 
said  of  him.  There  goes  one  of  the  greatest  and  one  of  the  best 
men  that  ever  England  bred. 

As  his  whole  life  was  spent  in  acts  of  piety  and  charity,  so 
he  gave  remarkable  instances  of  both  at  his  death.  He  left  the 
main  of  his  estate,  at  his  decease,  for  the  propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  and  promoting  of  Christian  knowledge  at  home  as  well 
as  abroad. 


XU  PREFACE. 

To  the  Curacy  of  Mount- Sorrel  in  particular,  and  Vicarage  of 
Barrow  in  the  county  of  Leicester,  in  a  thankful  remembrance  of 
God's  mercies  vouchsafed  to  him  thereabouts,  he  bequeathed  a ' 
plentiful  accession  for  ever,  that  prayers  might  be  read  morning 
and  evening  every  day,  according  to  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church 
of  England,  in  the  chapel  and  parish-church  aforesaid :  with  a 
certain  sum  to  be  divided  equall}' ,  upon  the  eve  of  our  blessed 
Saviour's  Nativity,  among  six  poor  housekeepers  of  Barrow,  as 
the  ministers  and  churchwardens  should  agree ;  regard  being  had 
especially  to  those  who  had  been  most  constantly  at  prayers,  and 
at  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  foregoing  years 
"  And  if  it  shall  so  happen  (which  God  forbid  !)  that  the  Common 
Prayer  cannot  be  read  in  the  church  or  chapel  aforesaid,  my  will 
is  (saith  this  good  Father  of  our  Church),  that  what  should  have 
been  given  in  either  place  for  that,  be  in  each  place  allowed  to 
one  chosen  by  the  Vicar  of  Barrow  to  teach  school,  and  instruct 
the  youth  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England." 

Thus  lived  this  good  Prelate,  and  thus  he  died 


SERMON   I. 


Christ's  presence   with  his  MimsTERa 


Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

And,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

We  are  here  assembled  in  the  name  and  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord ;  and  not  only  ours,  but 
the  Lord  of  the  whole  world,  having  absolute  and  su- 
preme dominion  over  the  whole  creation  ;  not  only  as 
he  is  God,  and  the  Creator  of  all  things,  but  likewise  as 
man  too  :  his  human  nature,  by  reason  of  its  union  to  the 
Divine  person  and  its  perfect  obedience  to  the  Divine  will, 
being  exalted  above,  and  invested  with  power,  over  all 
other  creatures  whatsoever.  For  even  as  he  is  the  Son 
of  man,  there  is  given  him  dominion^  and  glory,  and  a 
kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  aud  languages  should 
serve  him,  Dan.  vii.  14.  And  he  having  humbled  himself 
and  become  obedient  to  death,  even  the  death  upon  the 
cross ;  therefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and 
given  him  a  name,  which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at  the 
name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven^ 
and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth  ;  and  that 
every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father,  Phil.  ii.  8,  9,  10,  11.  Hence 
we  find  the  holy  angels  themselves  waiting  upon  him  at 
2 


14  Christ's  presence 

his  birth,  in  the  wilderness,  in  his  agony,  and  at  his  re- 
surrection, when  they  also  acknowledged  him  to  be  the 
Lord,  saying,  Come  and  see  the  j)lace  where  the  Lord  lay. 
Matt,  xxviii.  6.  Yea,  all  the  angels  of  God  w^orship 
him,  and  are  commanded  so  to  do,  Heb.  i.  6.  And  as 
for  this  lower  world,  he  hath  the  heathen  for  his  inherit- 
ance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  posses- 
sion, Psalm  ii.  8.  He  hath  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and 
from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  All  kings  are  bound 
to  fall  dawn  before  him,  and  all  nations  to  serve  him,  Psalm 
Ixxii.  8,  11. 

All  creatures,  therefore,  both  in  heaven  and  earth,  are 
now  subject  to  our  Lord  Christ ;  and  he  orders,  governs, 
and  disposeth  of  them  all,  according  to  his  own  will  and 
pleasure,  and  so  as  shall  most  conduce  to  his  own  glory, 
and  his  Church's  good.  For  God,  having  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  hath  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand,  far  above 
principality,  and  jjower,  and  might,  and  dominion,  and 
every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  also 
that  which  is  to  came  ;  and  hath  put  all  things  under  his 
feet,  and  made  him  head  over  all  things  to  the  Church, 
which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all, 
Eph.  i.  20,  21,  22,  23.  He  is  the  head,  therefore,  not 
only  of  the  Church,  but  over  all  things,  to  or  for  the 
Church  :  so  that  nothing  is  exempted  from  his  dominion  : 
nothing  in  heaven,  in  earth,  or  hell,  but  what  is  subject 
to  his  power  ;  and,  therefore,  nothing  but  what  he  can 
do  for  his  own  Catholic  Church,  which  he  hath  purchas- 
ed with  his  own  blood.  He  can  assist  it  with  his  grace, 
sanctify  it  by  his  Spirit,  protect  it  by  his  power  :  he  can 
make  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth  work  together  for 
its  present  peace  and  future  glory,  maugre  all  the  oppo- 
sition that  men  or  devils  can  make  against  it. 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  15 

Thus  much  I  thought  good  to  premise  concerning  our 
Lord's  power,  in  order  to  the  exphcation  of  the  words 
which  I  have  now  read,  because  he  himself  taught  so 
when  he  spake  them.  For  being  now  about  to  send  his 
Apostles  into  the  world  to  preach  and  propagate  the 
Gospel  which  he  had  planted,  he  first  shows  them,  as  it 
were,  his  own  commission  ;  acquainting  them  with  the 
power  he  had  to  send  them,  and  that  in  such  words  as 
comprehended  all  that  I  have  said  concerning  it,  yea,  as 
much  as  words  are  able  to  express.  All  power ^  saith  he, 
is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth  :  go  ye  therefore, 
and  teach  all  nations,  &c.,  ver.  IS,  19.  As  if  he  should 
have  said,  I  have  now  all  power  over  all  things  in  the 
world  conferred  upon  me  ;  by  virtue  wherof  I  command, 
empower,  and  commissionate  you  to  enlarge,  settle,  and 
govern  the  Church  that  I  have  founded  ;  to  administer 
the  Sacraments  that  I  have  instituted  ;  and  to  persuade 
mankind  to  embrace  my  doctrine,  to  submit  to  my  disci- 
pline, to  obey  my  laws,  and  to  come  up  to  the  terms 
which  I  have  procured  for  them,  and  propounded  to 
them,  in  order  to  their  salvation. 

Go  ye  therefore  J  says  he,  and  teach  all  nations  ;  or,  as 
the  word  fiadrjTB-6aaT8  properly  signifies,  make  all  nations 
my  disciples:^  bring  them  over  to  my  religion,  that  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles  may  become  one  flock  under  rne,  the  great 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  their  souls.  And  this,  saith  he, 
I  would  have  you  do  two  ways  :  first,  by  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  and  so 
initiating  them  into  my  Church,  upon  their  consenting  to 
the  faith  which  I  have  published  to  the  world.  And, 
secondly,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you  ;  that  so  they  may  be  my  disciples 
indeed  ;  and  not  only  by  an  outward   profession  of  the 


16  Christ's  presence 

faith,  which  I  have  taught  them,  but  likewise  by  per- 
forming sincere  and  universal  obedience  to  all  the  com- 
mands that  I  have  laid  upon  them. 

When  our  Saviour  gave  this  charge  to  his  Apostles, 
we  may  easily  imagine  that  they  were  strangely  surprised 
at  the  hearing  of  it.  As  when  God  bade  Moses  go  and 
bring  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  iifoses  said  unto 
hhrij  Wlio  am  J,  that  I  should  go  to  Pharaoh,  and  that  I 
should  bring  forth  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt  ? 
Exod.  iii.  11.  So  when  our  Lord  bade  his  Apostles  go 
and  bring  all  nations  out  of  their  idolatries  and  supersti- 
tions, into  the  profession  of  his  religion,  the  Apostles 
certainly  could  not  but  wonder  at  it,  and  say,  at  least 
within  themselves.  Who  are  we,  a  company  of  poor, 
weak,  and  illiterate  men,  that  we  should  go  to  all  nations, 
that  we  should  bring  them  off  from  the  religions  of  their 
forefathers,  and  that  we  should  ever  persuade  the  world 
to  believe  in  a  crucified  Christ  ?  This  our  Lord  fore- 
saw ;  and  therefore,  as  God  answered  Moses,  saying, 
Certainly  I  loill  be  with  thee  ;  so  does  our  Saviour  here 
encourage  his  Apostles,  saying.  And,  behold,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Words  of  very  great  importance  to  us  all,  to  the  whole 
Church  of  God,  especially  to  the  governors  of  it,  and  to 
those  that  administer  the  Word  and  vSacraments  in  it : 
forasmuch  as  all  the  success  that  can  be  expected  from 
the  execution  of  any  ecclesiastical  function  depends  upon 
the  performance  of  this  promise,  which  therefore  our 
Lord  has  so  worded,  that  there  is  not  a  word  in  it,  but 
what  hath  its  emphasis,  and  is  much  to  be  observed  by 
us  ;  as  he  himself  seems  to  intimate  by  prefacing  it  with 
ldoi)j  behold,  take  special  notice  of  what  I  now  say  unto 
you. 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  17 

Hence,  therefore,  we  shall  first  very  briefly  consider 
the  words  apart,  that  so  we  may  come  to  the  better  un- 
derstanding of  the  whole.  First,  saith  he,  I  am  with 
yon  ;  I,  the  Eternal  Son  of  God,  and  now  become  the  Son 
of  man  too  ;  I,  who  have  the  angels  at  my  beck,  and 
make  the  devils  tremble  with  my  looks ;  I,  who  in  your 
sight  have  caused  the  storms  to  cease,  the  blind  to  see, 
the  lame  to  walk,  the  dead  to  rise,  only  with  a  word  of 
my  mouth  ;  I,  who  was  delivered  for  your  offences,  but 
am  now  raised  again  for  your  justification  ;  I,  who  have 
all  power  both  in  heaven  and  earth  committed  to  me  ;  I 
am  ivith  you.  Not  I  will  be  with  you,  but  I  am  with  you, 
in  the  present  tense  ;  minding  them  thereby,  of  his  Di- 
vine essence  and  power,  to  which  all  things  are  present. 
And,  therefore,  as  he  elsewhere  sai^.  Before  Abraham 
was,  I  am,  John  viii.  58,  so  here,  I  am  with  you  at  all 
times,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  as  really  as  at  this  present. 

And  then  it  follows,  I  am  f^ed'  x\uwp,  with  you  my 
Apostles.  For  that  these  words  were  spoken,  and  this 
promise  made,  only  to  the  Apostles,  is  plain,  from  that 
the  eleven  only  are  said  to  be  present  at  this  time,  ver.  16. 
And  that  besides,  this  promise  is  made  only  to  those  who 
now  receive  commission  to  go  and  convert  all  nations  to  the 
Christian  faith,  to  baptize  and  teach  mankind  the  com- 
mands of  Christ ;  which  commission  being  granted  only  to 
the  Apostles,  this  promise  also,  annexed  to  it,  must  needs 
belong  to  them  only.  But  then  we  must  observe  like- 
wise, that  as  it  belongs  to  them  only,  so  it  belongs  to 
them  all  alike.  lam  with  you,  saith  he,  not  with  Peter 
only,  or  any  one  or  more  of  you,  but  with  you  all  equally, 
one  as  well  as  another.  Yea,  saith  he,  /  am  with  you, 
ndcrag  tus  i)f/^Qug,  every  day ;  wheresoever  you  are, 
whensoever  you  do  anything  toward  the  executing  the 


18  Christ's  presence 

commission  which  I  have  now  given  j^ou,  I  am  with  you 
in  the  doing  of  it.  And  that  too,  ewe  t^?  avvTelslag  tov 
alwvogj  to  the  very  end  of  the  world  ;  that  is,  so  long  as 
I  have  a  Church  upon  earth,  which  shall  be  till  my 
coming  again  to  judge  the  world  :  all  this  while  I  pro- 
mise to  be  with  you,  and  therefore  as  long  as  the  world 
shall  last. 

The  words  being  thus  explained  apart,  that  we  may 
rightly  apprehend  our  Lord's  meaning  in  the  whole,  there 
are  two  things  to  be  considered : 

First  J  In  what  sense  the  Apostles  were  to  continue  to 
the  end  of  the  world. 

Secondly,  In  what  sense  our  Saviour  here  promises 
to  be  with  them  all  that  while. 

As  for  the  first^^t  is  plain,  that  our  Saviour  here  sup- 
poseth  that  apostles  were  to  continue  upon  earth  to  the 
end  of  the  w^orld  ;  for  otherwise  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  be  with  them  so  long,  and  by  consequence  to 
perform  this  promise  to  them.  But  it  is  as  plain  like- 
wise, that  the  persons  to  whom  our  Saviour  speaks  these 
words,  were  not  to  be  here  so  long,  being  all  long  ago 
dead.  And  therefore  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  possibly 
understand  the  words  in  any  other  sense  than  this,  even 
that  our  Lord  spake  them  to  his  Apostles,  not  as  private 
persons,  as  Peter,  James,  or  John,  &c.,  but  as  apostles, 
as  persons  now  placed  by  him  in  an  office,  that  should 
always  continue  in  his  Church.  So  that  the  promise  is 
made  not  so  much  to  the  persons  of  the  Apostles,  as  to 
the  Office  Apostolical ;  or  at  least  to  their  persons  only, 
as  vested  with  that  office,  and  by  consequence  to  all  per- 
sons to  the  end  of  the  world,  that  should  ever  have  that 
office  conferred  upon  them. 

For  our  better  understanding  of  this,  we  must  con- 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  19 

sider  what  it  is  properly  to  be  an  apostle  of  Christ,  or 
wherein  the  office  purely  apostolical  consisted.  For 
which  we  must  know,  that  those  whom  the  Scriptures., 
and  we  from  them,  call  apostles^  had  many  extraordinary 
privileges  granted  to  them,  which  were  not  essential  to 
their  office,  nor  peculiar  to  them  as  apostles,  but  com- 
mon to  them  with  other  disciples,  and  therefore  w^ere  to 
die  with  them.  As  for  example,  were  they  called  im- 
mediately by  Christ  himself.?  So  were  the  seventy,  who 
were  the  ear  and  eye-witnesses  of  what  Christ  taught 
and  did  :  so  were  many  others  as  well  as  they.  Were 
they  divinely  inspired  to  speak  all  manner  of  languages  ? 
to  foretell  things  to  come }  to  work  miracles  to  confirm 
their  doctrines  }  So  were  they  which  were  no  apostles, 
as  well  as  they  that  were.  And  therefore  such  things  as 
these  cannot  be  looked  upon  as  any  part  of  the  apostoli- 
cal office,  but  only  as  extraordinary  favors  and  privileges 
vouchsafed  to  the  persons  of  the  Apostles. 

But  the  office,  properly  apostolical,  consisted  only  in 
such  things  as  had  an  immediate  reference  to  the  propa- 
gating, edifying  and  governing  of  the  Church  in  all  ages. 
Indeed,  our  Saviour  himself  gives  the  Apostles  a  partic- 
ular description  of  their  office,  in  the  very  commission 
he  here  grants  them  for  the  execution  of  it ;  command- 
ing them  to  convert  all  nations  to  his  religion,  to  admin- 
ister the  Sacraments  to  them,  and  to  teach  them  all 
things  that  he  had  commanded  them.  Under  which  is 
contained  whatsoever  is  necessary  to  the  instruction 
and  government  of  his  Church  in  all  ages  ;  as  the  or- 
daining persons  to  do  it,  censuring  those  who  refuse  in- 
struction, comforting  and  encouraging  those  who  receive 
it,  and  the  like.  This  was  properly  the  office  apostoli- 
cal, which  therefore  was  not  to  die  with  the  persons  of 


20  CHRIST  S    PRESENCE 

the  Apostles,  but  was  to  be  transmitted  by  them  to  all 
after-ages,  as  our  Lord  himself  intimates  in  the  very  de- 
scription of  it.  For  he  here  bids  his  Apostles  go  and 
make  all  nations  his  disciples ;  which,  it  is  plain,  the 
persons  he  spake  these  words  to  neither  did,  nor  ever 
could,  accomplish,  being  to  continue,  as  we  know  they 
did,  but  a  little  while  upon  earth,  wherein  it  was  im- 
possible for  them  to  go  over  all  nations,  much  more  to 
persuade  them  all  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith.  And 
therefore  this  command  itself,  as  well  as  the  promise, 
must  needs  be  so  understood,  as  to  be  given  not  only  to 
the  persons  of  the  Apostles  then  present,  but  to  all  that 
should  succeed  them  in  that  office  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  So  that  from  this  very  command,  we  reasonably 
conclude,  that  these  words  were  meant  not  only  of  the 
Apostles  themselves,  but  of  their  successors  in  that  office 
all  along,  until  all  nations  have  received  the  Gospel  of 
Christ :  much  more  if  we  consider  the  promise  annexed 
to  it.  And,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world;  which  cannot  possibly  be  fulfilled,  unless  there 
be  apostles,  or  persons  vested  with  the  apostolical  office, 
alway  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

Hence,  therefore,  it  was  that  the  Apostles,  having  re- 
ceived this  command  and  promise  from  our  Lord,  and 
understanding  from  thence  that  it  was  his  pleasure  that 
they  should  transfer  their  office  to  all  future  ages,  by 
ordaining  others  into  it,  took  care  to  do  it.  For  besides 
the  eleven  to  whom  these  words  were'  spoken,  we  find 
Matthias,  Paul  and  Barnabas,  admitted  into  the  same 
office,  and  expressly  called  apostles  as  ^\ell  as  they.  So 
is  Epaphroditus,  Bishop  of  Philippi,  called  by  St.  Paul 
himself,  Phil.  ii.  25.  And  if  we  consult  the  ancient  re- 
cords of   the  Church,  we  shall  there  find  that  James, 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  21 

bishop  of  Jerusalem,  Mark  of  Alexandria,  Timothy  of 
Ephesusj  Titus  of  Crete,  and  Clemens  of  Rome,  were 
all  called  apostles.  And,  as  Theodoret  observes,  to^? 
rvv  xaXovfiBvovg  'Eniaxonovg  Anoaiolovg  ^v6[ia'Qov  :  those 
which  we  now  call  bishops,  the  primitive  Christians 
called  apostles.  And  so  indeed  may  all  bishops,  rightly 
ordained,  be  called,  as  having  the  same  office  in  the 
church  which  the  Apostles  had.  And  therefore  the  office 
which  Matthias  was  chosen  into  is  called  imaxonii^  the 
office  of  a  bishop.  Acts  i.  20.  Hence  St.  Cyprian  some- 
times calls  bishops  by  the  name  of  apostles,  sometimes 
apostles  by  the  name  of  bishops.  And  the  reason  is, 
because  bishops,  as  St.  Hierom  expresses  it,  apostoloriim 
locum  tenentj  they  supply  the  place  of  the  Apostles. 
Hence  also,  not  only  St.  Cyprian,  but  Irenajus  and  Ter- 
tullian,  assert  bishops  to  be  the  Apostles'  successors, 
and  reckon  up  the  succession  of  several  of  them  from 
the  Apostles  themselves.  And  St,  Hierom  himself,  hav- 
ing affirmed  all  bishops,  of  whatever  city,  great  or  small, 
to  be  ejusdem  meriti^  ejusdem  et  sacerdotii,  he  adds,  conterum 
oimies  Apostolorum  succeswres  sunt^  they  are  all  successors 
to  the  Apostles. 

And  therefore  whatsoever  our  Lord  said  to  the  Apos- 
tles, as  such,  all  succeeding  apostles  or  bishops  are 
obliged  by  it,  as  well  as  they  :  as  St.  Cyprian  observed 
long  ago,  saying,  Christus  qui  dicit  ad  apostoloSj  ac  per 
hoc  ad  omnes  prcepositos^  qui  apostolis  vicaria  ordinatione 
succediint ;  for  the  office  is  the  same  now  as  it  was  then. 
So  that  in  the  Apostles'  days,  and  in  after-ages,  and  in 
all  places  of  the  world,  as  the  same  Father  words  itj 
episcopafns  iinus  est,  cujus  a  singulis  in  solidum  pars 
tcnetur  ;  there  is  but  one  episcopacy,  but  one  episcopal 
office,  a  part  whereof  is  wholly  possessed  by  every  bishop. 
2* 


22  Christ's  presence 

Which,  as  it  quite  overthrows  the  supremacy  which  the 
bishop  of  Rome  pretends  to  over  all  other  bishops,  so  it 
sufficiently  proves  the  true  sense  and  meaning  of  the 
words  in  my  text.  For  seeing  the  office  is  still  one  and 
the  same  now,  which  was  in  the  Apostles'  days,  and  so 
will  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  seeing  also  there 
always  will  be  such  apostles  in  the  Church  ;  our  Saviour, 
speaking  to  the  eleven  as  apostles,  might  well  say,  io, 
I  am  icith  you  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Having  thus  discovered  in  what  sense  the  Apostles 
were  to  continue  in  the  Church  to  the  end  of  the  world  ; 
we  are  now  to  consider  in  what  sense  our  Lord  here 
promises  to  be  always  with  them.  To  find  out  which, 
we  need  not  have  recourse  to  the  wild  and  extravagant 
opinion  of  the  Ubiquitarians,  asserting  the  human  nature 
of  Christ  to  be  everj'-where  present.  Neither  is  it  suf- 
ficient to  observe,  that  his  divine  essence  is  present  with 
them  ;  for  so  it  is  with  every  creature,  no  creature  being 
able  to  subsist  without  it :  whereas  our  Saviour  heie 
promiseth  to  be  with  his  Apostles  in  some  such  peculiar 
sense,  as  can  belong  only  to  them,  and  to  them  only  as 
his  Apostles.  And  that  we  might  not  be  mistaken  in  a 
matter  of  such  consequence  as  this,  he  himself  hath  else- 
where explained  himself,  and  left  upon  record  how  these 
\vords  are  to  be  understood.  For,  as  he  here  promises 
his  Apostles,  that  he  will  be  with  them  to  the  end  of  the 
world  ;  so  he  elsewhere  tells  them,  that  his  Holy  Spirit 
shall  be  always  with  them.  And  I  will  pray  the  Father, 
saith  he,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he 
may  abide  with  you  for  ever,  even  the  Spint  of  truths  John 
xiv.  16  ;  which  is  the  same  in  eflect  with  his  own  being 
always  with  them.  For  the  Spirit  proceeding  from  the 
Son,  as  well  as  from  the  Father,  and  being  of  the  same 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  23 

nature  and  essence  with  him,  ivheresoever  the  Spirit  is, 
there  is  Christ  also.  So  that,  in  short,  our  Saviour  here 
promiseth  his  Apostles,  that  he  will  be  always  with  them 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  by  his  Holy  Spirit  acompanying 
and  assisting  them  in  the  discharge  of  their  apostolical 
office.  In  the  discharge,  I  say,  of  their  apostolical  office  ; 
for  we  are  still  to  remember  what  I  observed  before, 
even  that  these  words  were  spoken  to  the  Apostles  and 
their  successors  only  as  such  :  and  therefore  Christ's  pre- 
sence with  them  by  his  Holy  Spirit  here  promised,  can- 
not be  understood  only  of  his  illuminating,  or  sanctifying, 
or  comforting  presence,  which  he  vouchsafeth  to  all  be- 
lievers, as  well  as  unto  them  ;  but  it  must  be  understood 
in  such  a  sense  as  is  proper  to  the  apostles,  pastors,  and 
governors  of  the  Church  in  all  ages  :  which,  in  brief, 
amounts  to  no  more  nor  less  than  this,  even  that  Christ 
having  constituted  such  an  office  in  his  Church,  for  the 
government  and  edification  of  it  to  the  end  of  the  world ; 
he  here  promiseth  that  he  himself,  by  his  Holy  Spirit, 
will  be  always  present  at  the  execution  of  it,  so  as  to 
make  it  effectual  to  the  great  ends  and  purposes  for 
which  it  was  designed. 

To  explain  this  more  fully  to  you,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  instance  in  the  several  parts  of  the  apostolical  office, 
and  to  show  how  Christ,  according  to  his  promise,  is 
always  present  by  his  Spirit  at  the  performance  of  them. 
Now  the  first  and  principal  part  of  this  office  is  the  or- 
daining others  into  it,  and  giving  them  power  to  ordain 
others,  and  so  successively  to  the  end  of  the  world; 
which  is  necessarily  supposed  in  the  promise  itself,  as 
that  without  which  it  could  never  be  fulfilled. 

The  first,  therefore,  that  were  ordained  into  this  office, 
were  ordained  by  Christ  himself     The  fofm  and  manner 


24  CHRIST'S    PRESENCE 

of  which  ordination  is  set  down,  John  xx.  21,22  ;  where 
it  is  said,  that  Christ,  coming  to  his  Apostles,  said  to 
them.  Peace  he  with  you :  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even 
so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed  on 
them,  and  said  unto  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost : 
where  we  may  plainly  see  how  our  Saviour  would  be 
with  his  Apostles,  after  his  body  was  removed  from 
them,  even  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  which  he  therefore 
breathes  from  himself  into  them,  by  that  means  conse- 
crating them  his  apostles  and  vicegerents  upon  earth  ; 
telling  them  withal,  that  as  the  Father  sent  him,  so  he 
sent  them.  Whereby  he  certifies  them,  that  whatsoever 
power  he  had  received  from  the  Father,  for  the  instruc- 
tion and  government  of  his  Church,  he  now  left  the 
same  with  them,  or  rather  with  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
he  breathed  into  them  :  and  by  consequence,  that  as  he 
sent  them,  so  were  they  to  send  others,  by  conferring 
the  Spirit  upon  them,  and  so  from  one  to  another  all 
along,  that  the  Spirit  which  they  now  received  might 
continue  with  them  and  their  successors,  and  so  supply 
his  place  upon  earth,  until  his  coming  again. 

Hence  the  Apostles,  being  thus  ordained  and  instruct- 
ed by  our  Lord,  took  special  care  to  transfer  the  same 
Spirit  to  others,  which  they  had  received  from  him. 
But  this  they  could  not  do  after  the  same  manner  as 
Christ  had  done  it  to  them  :  for  that  way  was  peculiar 
to  Christ,  from  whom  the  Spirit  proceedeth.  Wherefore, 
they  being  doubtless  directed  thereto  by  the  same  Spirit, 
transmitted  it  to  others  by  laying  their  hands  upon 
them ;  which  was  the  old  way  that  had  been  used  in  the 
Church  before  :  for  so  Moses  communicated  the  Spirit  of 
wisdom  to  Joshua,  thereby  constituting  him  his  succes- 
sor in  the  government  of  Israel,  even  by  laying  his  hands 


WITH    HIS   MINISTERS.  25 

upon  him,  Deut.  xxxiv.  8.  Thus  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  ordained  by  the  special  appointment  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  himself,  Acts  xiii.  3  ;  for  it  is  said,  that  they,  hav- 
ing/a^^ec?  and  prayed^  laid  their  hands  upon  them,  and  so 
sent  them  out :  who,  thereupon,  are  said  in  the  next 
verse  to  be  sent  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  it  being  now  con- 
ferred upon  them  by  the  imposition  of  hands.  Thus  St. 
Paul  communicated,  ;^(i9tcf,aa  tov  Qeov,  as  he  calls  it,  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit  unto  Timothy,  2  Tim.  i.  6.  And 
wheresoever  we  read  that  the  Apostles  ordained  any,  they 
still  did  it  after  this  manner,  even  by  laying  their  hands 
upon  them  :  and  that  too,  whether  they  ordained  them 
into  their  whole  office,  or  else  into  any  part  of  it.  For 
the  whole  care  of  the  Church  being  committed  unto 
them,  they  had  power  to  constitute  what  officers  they 
thought  fit  under  them.  But  still  they  did  it  by  laying 
their  hands  upon  them,  and  so  communicating  of  the 
same  Spirit  unto  them,  which  they  had  received  from 
Christ.  As  when  they  found  it  necessary  to  have  Dea- 
cons in  the  Church,  to  take  care  of  the  widows,  they 
ordained  them,  by  laying  their  hands  upon  them.  Acts  iv. 
6  ;  thereby  transferring  so  much  of  the  Spirit  upon  them, 
as  was  necessary  for  that  office.  And  when  they  after- 
wards saw  it  very  necessary  that  there  should  be  other  offi- 
cers in  the  Church,  which  we  now  call  presbyters,  that 
should  have  power  under  them  to  preach  the  gospel,  and 
administer  the  Sacrament,  in  places  where  they  them- 
selves could  not  be  always  present ;  upon  these  also  they 
laid  their  hands,  and  by  that  means  communicated  so  much 
of  the  Spirit  unto  them,  as  was  necessary  for  the  due 
and  effiictual  execution  of  the  said  office. 

Thus,  therefore,  it  is,  that  the  apostolical  office  hath 
been  handed  down  from  one  to  another  ever  since  the 


26  Christ's  presence 

Apostles'  days  to  our  time,  and  so  will  be  to  the  end  of 
the  world,  Christ  himself  being  continually  present  at 
such  imposition  of  hands  ;  thereby  transferring  the  same 
Spirit,  which  he  had  first  breathed  into  his  Apostles, 
upon  others  successively  after  them,  as  really  as  he  was 
present  with  the  Apostles  themselves,  when  he  first 
breathed  it  into  them.  Insomuch,  that  they  w4io  are  thus 
ordained,  are  said  to  be  made  bishops  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
himself,  as  well  as  the  Apostles  were  ;  Acts  xx.  28.  By 
which  means  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  always  hath  been, 
and  still  is,  truly  apostolical,  as  it  is  called  in  the  Nicene 
Creed.  And  the  several  parts  of  the  apostolical  office 
are  now  as  effectually  performed  by  their  successors,  and 
others  ordained  under  them,  as  they  were  while  the 
Apostles  themselves  lived.  For  it  w^as  not  the  persons 
of  the  Apostles,  but  their  office,  influenced  and  assisted 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  made  the  Sacraments  they  ad- 
ministered to  be  valid,  and  their  preaching  the  Gospel  so 
prevalent  upon  those  that  heard  it.  Though  Paul  him- 
self planted,  and  Apollos  watered,  it  was  God  only  that 
gave  the  increase. 

And  so  it  is  to  this  day  :  all  the  efficacy  that  there  is 
or  can  be  in  the  administration  of  any  ecclesiastical  office 
depends  altogether  upon  the  Spirit  of  God  going  along 
with  the  office,  and  assisting  at  the  execution  of  it.  With- 
out which,  the  Sacraments  we  administer  would  be  but 
empty  signs,  and  our  preaching  no  more  than  beating  of 
the  air.  Whereas,  on  the  other  side,  Christ,  according 
to  his  promise,  being  always  present  by  his  Holy  Spirit 
at  the  administration  of  the  several  offices  which  he  has 
ordained  in  his  Church,  they  can  never  fail  of  their  de- 
signed effect,  if  the  persons  to  whom  they  are  adminis- 
tered be  but  ri«;htly  disposed  and  qualified  for  it.     By 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  27 

this  means,  they  that  are  duly  baptized  are  horn  again, 
not  only  of  water,  but  of  the  Spirit  also,  John  iii.  5.  ,  and 
so,  together  with  the  washing  of  regeneration,  iheij  have  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Tit.  iii.  5.  Hence  also,  in 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  worthy  receiver 
does  really  by  faith  partake  of  the  mystical  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  and  of  such  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  shall  enable  him  to  walk  as  becomes  a  member  of 
Christ.  And  whensoever  we  read,  preach,  or  publish 
the  Gospel  as  Christ  taught  it,  the  Holy  Spirit  goes  along 
with  it,  so  that  it  becomes  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion unto  every  one  that  believeth.  And  seeing  our  Lord 
thus  continually  accompanies  the  Apostles  and  their  suc- 
cessors, so  as  to  vouchsafe  his  Spirit  to  those  on  whom 
they  lay  their  hands,  and  toco-operate  by  the  same  Spirit 
with  those  who  are  so  ordained  by  them,  in  their  admin- 
istration of  the  Word  and  Sacraments  ;  hence  he  may 
well  be  said  to  be  always  with  them,  according  to  the 
promise  he  makes  them  in  my  text. 

But  besides  that  imposition  of  hands,  whereby  the 
Apostles  transmitted  the  Spirit  they  had  received,  toge- 
ther with  their  apostolical  office,  down  to  succeeding 
ages,  w^e  find  them  sometimes  laying  their  hands  on  be- 
lievers baptized,  that  thereby  the  Holy  Ghost  might 
come  upon  them,  not  with  respect  to  any  office,  but  only 
to  confirm  and  strengthen  them  in  the  Christian  faith. 

For  when  the  Samaritans  had  received  the  word  of 
God,  and  were  baptized  by  Philip,  who  was  no  apostle, 
but  only  a  deacon,  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,  hearing  of 
it,  sent  Peter  and  John  unto  them,  who  having  laid  their 
hands  upon  them,  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost ;  Acts 
viii.  17.  Philip,  indeed,  having  had  the  Apostles'  hands 
laid  upon  him,  had  thereby  received  power  to  baptize 


28  CHRIST^S    PRESENCE 

them  with  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  it  seems  he 
had  no  power  to  lay  his  hands  upon  them,  and  by  that 
means  to  confer  any  greater  measure  of  the  Spirit  upon 
them.  No,  that  was  to  be  done  only  by  the  Apostles 
themselves  ;  who  therefore  sent  two  of  their  body,  as  far 
as  from  Jerusalem  to  Samaria,  on  purpose  to  do  it : 
which  certainly  they  would  never  have  done,  had  this 
been  a  useless  ceremony  ;  or  if  Philip,  or  any  one  under 
an  apostle,  could  have  done  it.  So  that  this  instance  is 
of  itself  sufficient  to  prove  that  this  was  an  act  peculiar 
to  the  apostolical  office  ;  and  that  our  Saviour,  according 
to  his  promise,  was  really  present  at  the  performance  of 
it ;  seeing  the  Apostles  had  no  sooner  laid  their  hands 
upon  them,  but  they  immediately  received  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Another  instance  of  the  same  nature  we  find, 
Actsxix.  6.,  where  St.  Paul  being  at  Ephesus,  and  finding 
some  disciples  there,  baptized  only  with  the  baptism  of 
John  ;  he  laid  his  hands  upon  them,  and  so  they  received 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

Hence  the  Catholic  Church,  in  all  ages,  hath  not  only 
retained  this  apostolical  rite,  which  we  now  call  Confirm- 
atiouj  but  hath  always  esteemed  it  an  essential  part  of 
the  apostohcal.  office,  and  therefore  to  be  performed  by 
none  but  the  Apostles  themselves  and  their  successors 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  And  therefore  it  was  the  ancient 
and  constant  custom  of  the  primitive  Church,  as  it  is 
ours,  for  the  bishop  of  ev^ery  diocese  to  go  into  the  lesser 
cities  and  villages  belonging  to  him,  and  there  lay  his 
hands  upon  those  who  were  baptized  by  priests  or  dea- 
cons, that  they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  we 
learn  from  St.  Hierom  himself,  whose  words  are,  non 
abnuo  heme  esse  ecclesiariim  consuetudinein,  ut  ad  eos  qui 
■mmnrihns  urhibus  per  preshyferos  et  diaeemos  haptizafi  sinif^ 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  29 

episcopus  ad  invocationein  Sancti  Spiritus  manum  imposi- 
turus  excurrat. 

And  therefore,  how  any  bishops  in  our  days  dare  neg- 
lect so  considerable  a  part  of  their  office,  1  know  not ; 
but  fear  they  will  have  no  good  account  to  give  of  it, 
when  they  come  to  stand  before  our  Lord's  tribunal. 
And  as  for  others,  who,  contrary  to  the  practice  of  the 
primitiv^e  Christians,  either  refuse  or  neglect  confirma- 
tion, when  they  may  have  it  administered  to  them,  they 
have  just  cause  to  suspect  that  they  have  no  good  sense 
of  religion,  nor  regard  for  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy 
Spirit :  for  if  they  had,  they  would  use  all  means  for  the 
attainment  thereof;  especially  this,  which  hath  been 
found  effectual  for  that  end  by  the  Catholic  and  Aposto- 
lic Church  in  all  ages,  where  persons  have  been  duly 
prepared  for  it :  our  Lord  being,  according  to  his  promise 
in  my  text,  always  present  at  the  performance  of  this, 
as  well  as  of  any  other  part  of  the  apostolical  office. 

There  is  one  thing  still  behind,  which  we  must  by  no 
means  omit,  especially  upon  this  occasion  ;  and  that  is, 
the  power  of  governing  the  Church,  which  our  Lord  left 
with  his  Apostles  and  their  successors,  to  the  end  of  the 
world  ;  but  so  that  he,  according  to  his  promise,  is  al- 
ways present  with  them  at  the  execution  of  it.  For  this 
.  power  is  granted  to  them  in  the  very  charter  to  which 
this  promise  is  annexed  :  for  here  our  Lord  gives  them 
commission  not  only  to  baptize,  but  likewise  to  teach 
those  who  are  his  disciples,  to  observe  whatsoever  he  had 
commanded.  Whereby  they  are  empowered  both  to  de- 
clare what  are  those  commands  of  Christ  which  men 
ought  to  observe,  and  also  to  use  all  means  to  prevail 
upon  men  to  observe  them  :  such  as  are,  correcting  and 
punishing  those  who  violate,  rewarding  and  encouraging 


30  Christ's  presence 

those  who  keep  them.  But  our  Saviour's  kingdom  being, 
as  himself  saith,  not  of  this  world,  but  purely  spiritual, 
he  hath  authorized  his  substitutes  in  the  government  of 
it,  to  use  rewards  and  punishments  of  the  same  nature  ; 
even  to  admonish  delinquents  in  his  name  to  forsake  their 
sins,  and  if  they  continue  obstinate,  and  neglect  such  ad- 
monitions, to  excommunicate,  or  cast  them  out  of  his 
Church  ;  and,  upon  their  repentance,  to  absolve  and  re- 
ceive them  in  again.  This  power  our  Saviour  first  pro- 
mised to  St.  Peter,  and  in  him  to  the  rest  of  the  Apostles, 
Matt.  XVI.  19.  But  it  was  not  actually  conferred  upon 
them  till  after  his  resurrection,  when  having  breathed,  he 
said  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost  :  whosesoever 
sins  ye  remit^  they  are  remitted  unto  them  ;  and  whosesoever 
sins  ye  retain^  they  are  retained^  John  xx.  23.  As  if  he 
should  have  said,  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  having  power  upon 
earth  also  to  forgive  sins,  do  now  commit  the  same  to 
you  ;  so  that  whose  sins  soever  are  remitted  or  retained 
by  you,  are  so  by  me  also.  From  whence  it  is  plain, 
both  that  the  Apostles  received  power  to  remit  and  retain 
sins,  and  that  Christ  himself  concurs  with  them  in  the 
exercise  of  that  power  ;  and  how  he  doth  it,  even  by  his 
Holy  Spirit  now  breathed  into  them. 

To  explain  the  full  extent  and  latitude  of  this  power, 
would  require  more  time  than  can  be  allowed  upon  this 
day,  whereon  it  is  to  be  exercised  :  and  therefore,  I  shall 
observe  only  two  things  concerning  it ;  whereof  the  first 
is,  that  how  great  soever  the  power  be,  which  our  Lord 
committed  to  his  Apostles  and  their  successors,  for  the 
government  of  his  Church  in  all  ages,  it  is  but  ministerial ; 
they  act  only  under  him  as  his  ministers  and  stewards, 
and  must  one  day  give  an  account  to  him  of  all  their  ac- 
tions.     Fea,  whatsoever  power  they  have  of  this  nature, 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  81 

it  is  still  his  power  in  their  hands  ;  they  derive  it  con- 
tinually from  him,  who  is  always  present  with  them. 
And  therefore,  as  they  themselves  need  to  have  a  care 
how  they  exert  this  power,  or  neglect  the  exerting  of  it ; 
so  others  had  need  to  take  care  too,  that  they  neither 
resist  nor  despise  it. 

The  other  thing  I  would  observe  unto  you  is,  that  for 
the  better  execution  of  this  power,  it  hath  been  the  con- 
stant custom  of  the  Apostles  and  their  successors,  in  all 
ages,  to  visit  the  Churches  committed  to  their  charge  ; 
to  inquire  into  the  faith  and  manners,  both  of  the  clergy 
and  laity  that  are  under  them  ;  and  to  use  so  much  of 
their  authority,  and  give  such  orders,  as  they  found  ne- 
cessary for  the  due  observation  of  their  Lord's  commands. 
Thus  we  find  the  Apostles  frequently  visiting  the  Church- 
es they  had  planted  ;  and  St.  Paul  particularly  keeping 
a  solemn  visitation  at  Miletus,  where  he  sent  for  the 
elders  of  Ephesus,  and  of  all  Asia  (Irenseus  affirms,  and 
the  context  itself  proves),  and  summoned  them  to  appear 
before  him  there  ;  where  he  gave  them  many  apostolical 
admonitions  and  directions,  how  to  feed  the  flock,  over 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them  overseers,  Acts 
XX.  28.  Afterwards  we  find  it  recorded  in  ecclesiastical 
history,  that  St.  John  often  visited  the  Asiatic  Churches, 
as  his  peculiar  province.  And  I  do  not  question,  but 
where  we  read  of  Pinytus  bishop  of  Gnossus,  and  Dio- 
nysius  of  Alexandria,  laying  their  commands  upon  their 
clergy,  in  the  first  ages  of  the  Church,  it  was  at  such  a 
visitation  as  this  :  and  we  cannot  doubt  of  St.  Cyprian's 
care  in  this  particular,  so  long  as  he  resided  upon  his 
bishopric,  seeing  that  in  his  very  recess,  when  he  was 
forced  to  retire,  he  visited  them,  as  himself  saith,  by  his 
letters,  sending  several  both  to  the  clergy  and  laity,  still 


82  Christ's  presence 

extant  in  his  works  ;  wherein  he  sometimes  reproves, 
sometimes  admonishes,  and  directs   them  how  to   carry . 
and  behave  themselves  inthatjunctm^e. 

Indeed  this  is  so  necessary  to  the  discharging  of  the 
episcopal  or  apostolical  office,  that  it  cannot  be  imagined 
that  ever  any  conscientious  bishop  durst  neglect  it.  In- 
somuch, that  in  several  ages  after  the  Apostles,  we  have 
no  ecclesiastical  law  or  canon,  as  I  remember,  about 
episcopal  visitations ;  because  there  w^as  no  need  of 
them  till  about  the  sixth  or  seventh  century,  when  there 
were  several  canons  made  concerning  the  time  and  man- 
ner of  keeping  them  :  as  the  sixth  Council  at  Aries  de- 
creed, that  every  bishop  should  go  about  his  diocese  once 
every  year.  Ivo  quotes  an  ancient  canon  of  the  second 
Council  at  Seville,  that  every  bishop  shall  once  a  year  go 
about  his  diocese,  and  confirm  and  teach  the  people. 
The  second  Council  at  Braga  in  Portugal  decreed,  that 
bishops  in  their  visitations  should  instruct  their  clergy 
how  to  administer  the  Sacrament.  The  fourth  at  Tole- 
do, that  they  shall  then  inquire  into  the  fabric  of  their 
several  churches,  and  examine  what  repairs  they  wanted. 
Another  at  Augusta  Vindelicorum,  or  Augsburg,  as 
some  think,  as  others  at  Ratisbon  in  Germany,  de- 
creed, that  when  the  bishop  goes  about  his  diocese  to 
confirm  the  people,  the  presbyters  shall  be  always  ready 
to  attend  him.  There  are  several  other  canons,  enjoin- 
ing bishops  to  visit  at  least  once  a  year,  and  directing 
them  what  to  do  at  their  visitations ;  but  none,  that  I 
know  of,  that  they  shall  visit  in  general :  the  Church 
taking  it  for  granted  all  along,  that  no  bishop  would  total- 
ly omit  so  necessary  a  part  of  his  duty,  but  would  some 
time,  and  after  some  manner  or  other,  visit  the  diocese 
that  belonged  to  him  :  which  certainly  none  can  choose 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  33 

but  doj  who  considers  either  the  account  he  must  one 
day  give  of  his  stewardship,  or  the  encouragement  our 
Lord  himself  has  given  him  to  do  it,  in  that  he  hath  pro- 
mised to  be  always  with  him  in  the  discharge  of  his 
office  ;  saying  to  his  Apostles  and  their  successors  for 
ever,  io,  I  am  ivith  you  ahoay,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world. 

Now  the  promises  being  duly  weighed,  even  that  our 
Lord  himself  is  always  present  by  his  holy  Spirit  with 
his  Apostles  and  their  successors  in  the  execution  of  the 
apostolical  office  ;  many  useful  inferences  might  be 
thence  deduced.  I  shall  instance  in  some  few,  which  I 
hope  will  not  be  altogether  unworthy  of  your  considera- 
tion at  this  time. 

Hence,  therefore,  in  the  first  place,  I  observe,  how 
much  we  are  all  bound  to  acknowledge  the  goodness,  to 
praise,  magnify,  and  adore  the  name  of  the  Most  High 
God,  in  that  we  were  born  and  bred,  and  still  live  in  a 
Church,  wherein  the  apostolical  line  hath  through  all 
ages  been  preserved  entire,  there  having  been  a  constant 
succession  of  such  bishops  in  it,  as  were  truly  and  properly 
successors  to  the  Apostles,  by  virtue  of  that  apostolical 
imposition  of  hands  ;  which  being  begun  by  the  Apos- 
tles, hath  been  continued  from  one  to  another,  ever  since 
their  time,  down  to  ours.  By  which  means,  the  same 
Spirit  which  was  breathed  by  our  Lord  into  his  Apostles, 
is,  together  with  their  office,  transmitted  to  their  lawful 
successors,  the  pastors  and  governors  of  our  Church  at 
this  time  ;  and  acts,  moves,  and  assists  at  the  administra- 
tion of  the  several  parts  of  the  apostolical  office  in  our 
days,  as  much  as  ever.  From  whence  it  follows,  that 
the  means  of  grace,  which  we  now  enjoy,  are  in  them- 
selves  as  powerful  and  effectual  as  they  were  in   the 


34  Christ's  presence 

Apostles'  days  :  and  if  they  prove  not  always  so  success- 
ful now  as  they  w^ere  then,  that  cannot  be  imputed  to 
any  want  of  efficacy  in  them,  but  to  some  defect  or  other 
in  those  who  use  them.  For  they  w^ho  are  duly  prepar- 
ed, cannot  but  always  find  the  same  effect  from  them, 
because  there  is  always  the  same  cause,  even  the  Spirit 
of  God  moving  upon  his  Word  and  Sacraments,  when 
administered  by  our  Church,  as  well  as  when  administer- 
ed by  the  Apostles,  to  whom  it  was  first  given. 

And  here  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  what  I  have 
often  thought  of,  not  without  admiration,  how  strangely 
the  spirit  of  the  Apostles  hath  run  through  our  Church, 
all  along,  ever  since  the  Reformation,  diffusing  itself 
from  the  head  which  first  received  it,  into  all  her  real 
members  ;  as  may  easily  be  seen,  not  only  in  the  disci- 
pline of  our  Church,  but  likewise  in  its  doctrine,  manner 
of  worship,  patience  under  sufferings,  universal  charity, 
and  particularly  in  its  loyalty  and  submission  to  the  civil 
magistrate  ;  which  the  Apostles,  assisted  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  did  not  only  press  upon  others,  but  practised  them- 
selves. And  the  same  Spirit  hath  enabled  our  Church 
constantly  to  do  the  same  :  insomuch,  that  malice  itself 
could  never  fasten  anything  of  rebeUion  upon  our  Church, 
as  now  constituted,  nor  upon  any  of  her  members  that 
lived  faithfully  in  her  communion.  Many  of  them  have 
suffered  imprisonment,  sequestration,  yea  martj-rdom 
itself,  as  the  Apostles  did  ;  and  yet  all  hav^e  been  as  free 
from  rebellion  and  treason  as  they  w^ere :  which  to  me  is 
a  great  instance  of  the  same  Spirit  still  working  in  our 
Church,  which  wTought  so  effectually  upon  them. 

And  this  I  verily  believe  is  the  great  reason,  why  the 
devil  had  such  a  spite  at  our  Church,  still  stirring  uji  ad- 
versaries of  all  sorts  against  it ;  papists  on  the  one  hand, 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  "  o5 

and  sectaries  on  the  other,  and  all,  if  possible,  to  destroy 
it :  even  because  the  Spirit,  which  is  ministered  in  it,  is 
so  contrary  to  his  nature,  and  so  destructive  of  his  king- 
dom, that  he  can  never  expect  to  domineer  and  tyrannize 
over  the  people  of  the  land,  so  long  as  such  a  Church  is 
settled  among  them,  and  they  continue  firm  to  it.  And 
therefore  seeing  he  cannot,  by  all  his  secret  plots  and 
contrivances,  totally  overthrow  it,  he  still  uses  the  utmost 
of  his  skill  and  power,  to  draw  as  many  as  he  can  from 
its  communion,  and  so  make  them  schismatics ;  that  so 
being  separated  from  the  body,  they  may  not  partake  of 
the  Spirit  that  is  in  it,  nor  by  consequence  receive  any 
benefit  from  this  promise  of  our  blessed  Saviour  to  the 
governors  of  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  in  all 
ages,  Loj  I  am  with  you  alway,  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

The  next  thing  I  would  observe  unto  you,  from  what 
we  have  now  discoursed  of,  concerns  us  of  the  clergy, 
who  are  entrusted  with  any  part  of  the  apostolical  office . 
For  being  ordained  by  those  who  succeeded  the  Apostles 
in  a  direct  line,  by  the  imposition  of  their  hands  upon  us, 
we  received  not  only  power  to  administer  the  Word  and 
Sacraments,  but  likewise  the  Spirit  of  Christ  to  accom- 
pany and  influence  such  administrations  :  by  whom 
therefore  Christ  himself  is  always  present  with  us, 
whensoever  we  are  employed  in  the  work  that  he  hath 
set  us.  Which  consideration,  methinks,  should  strike  an 
awe  and  terror  into  us,  and  make  us  dread  the  thoughts 
of  doing  the  work  of  our  Lord  negligently.  And  there- 
fore, whether  we  minister  unto  him  in  the  public  Liturgy 
of  our  Church,  read  or  preach  his  holy  Word,  or  adminis- 
ter his  blessed  Sacrameats,  let  us  all  be  persuaded  to 
have  an  especial  care  that  we  do  it,  not  after  a  careless 
or  perfunctory  manner,  but  with  all  that  reverence  and 


36  CHRiST^S    PRESENCE 

Godly  fear,  with  that  earnestness  and  devotion,  with  that 
seriousness  and  intention  of  mind,  as  becomes  those  who. 
beheve  that  our  Lord  himself  is  always  present-  with  us, 
not  only  to  take  notice  of  what  we  do,  but  to  bless  and 
sanctify  it  to  the  salvation  of  men's  immortal  souls. 

Hence  also  it  concerns  us  all,  to  carry  and  behave 
ourselves  at  all  times,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  as  be- 
Cometh  the  ministers  of  Christ  ;  to  whom  the  eternal  Son 
of  God  hath  vouchsafed  so  high  an  honor,  as  not  only 
to  employ  us  in  his  own  immediate  service,  but  likewise 
to  reside  himself  continually  with  us.  And  therefore, 
seeing  he  is  pleased  to  honor  us  with  his  own  presence, 
let  us  endeavor  to  honor  him  too,  by  walking  in  holiness 
and  righteousness  before  him  all  the  days  of  our  life. 
Especially,  let  us  take  all  the  care  we  can  to  avoid 
whatsoever  is  offensive  to  him,  or  unworthy  of  that  high 
and  heavenly  calling  in  which  he  hath  placed  us.  It  is 
true,  the  efficacy  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments  is  not  im- 
peded by  the  wickedness  or  unworthiness  of  him  by 
whom  they  are  administered,  as  our  Church  hath  rightly 
determined  ;  because  thai  depends  not  upon  the  person, 
but  the  office,  and  Christ's  promise  to  it.  But  howsoev- 
er, it  behoves  us,  who  attend  continually  upon  him,  to 
walk  in  all  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  blameless  ; 
lest  otherwise  we  bring  a  scandal  upon  our  profession, 
and  give  too  much  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  our  Lord 
to  blaspheme  his  most  sacred  name  :  especially  consider- 
ing what  a  sad  and  dismal  thing  it  would  be,  if  we,  who 
are  employed  by  Christ  to  persuade  others  to  obey  his 
Gospel,  should  not  obey  it  our5elves,  and  so  not  save 
ourselves  as  w^ell  as  those  tbat  hear  us ;  but  be  instru- 
ments in  God's  hand  to  bring  others  to  heaven,  and  yet 
we  ourselves  be  cast  down  to  he.ll ;  which  is  not  only 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  37 

possible,  but  impossible  lo  be  avoided,  unless  we  look 
very  narrowly  to  ourselves.  I  am  sure  St.  Paul  thought 
so,  and  therefore  saith,  I  keep  binder  my  body,  and  bring 
it  into  subjection,  lest  that  by  any  means  when  I  ham 
preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  castaway,  1  Cor, 
ix.  27.  And  if  so  great  an  apostle  was  forced  to  take  so 
much  pains  with  himself,  lest  when  he  had  preached 
salvation  unto  others,  he  himself  should  not  attain  it ; 
what  cause  have  you  and  I  to  do  so  ?  But  our  comfort 
is,  that  our  Lord  is  always  present  with  us,  and  therefore 
we  can  never  want  assistance  from  him,  if  we  be  not  first 
wanting  to  ourselves. 

Hoping  therefore  that   this  consideration   of  Christ's 
promise  to  us  will  have  itis  desired  effects  upon  us  of  the 
clergy,  I  shall,  in  the  next  place,  show  what  use  others 
also  may  and  ought  to  make  of  it ;  and  for  that  end,  shall 
apply  myself  unto  you  all.     Seeing  therefore  that  our 
Lord  hath  promised  to  be  with  his  Apostles  and  their  suc- 
cessors to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  seeing  the  succession  of 
the   Office   Apostolical  hath,  without  interruption,  been 
continued  in  our  Church  to  this  day ;  and  seeing  there- 
fore, that   Christ,  according  to  his  promise,  is  always 
present  by  his  Holy  Spirit  at  the  Word  and  Sacraments, 
as  administered  by  our  Church,  to  quicken,  actuate,  and 
make  them  effectual  to  the  salvation  of  our  souls  :  hence 
in  his  name,  and  for  his  sake,  and  your  own  too,  1  hum- 
bly pray  and  beseech  you  all,  that  you  would  take  all  the 
opportunities  you  can  to  meet  your  Lord  and  Saviour  in 
the  public  offices  of  the   Church,  to  which  he  hath  thus 
promised  his  peculiar  presence.    And  think  it  not  enough 
to  be  there,  but  consider  all  the  while  in  whose  presence 
you  are,  and  deport  yourselves  accordingly.     And  while 
we  read  or  preach  the  Gospel,  call  upon  you,  exhort, 
3 


.38  CHRISTS    PRESENCE 

and  pray  you  to  observe  whatsoever  Christ  hath  com- 
manded ;  still  remember  the  Apostle's  vv'ords,  that  we 
are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you 
by  wSj  we  pray  you,  in  Christ'' s  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to 
God;  2  Cor.  v.  20.  And  therefore  receive  it,  not  as 
the  word  of  man,  but,  as  it  is  indeed,  the  word  of  God 
himself. 

Above  all  things,  take  heed  that  you  have  not  men's 
persons  in  admiration,  so  as  to  think  the  Word  and  Sa- 
craments one'  jot  the  better  or  worse,  because  adminis- 
tered by  one  person  rather  than  another.  For  they  that 
do  so,  it  is  evident,  regard  the  person  more  than  the  of- 
fice ;  and  then  it  is  no  wonder  if  they  receive  no  benefit 
or  advantage  from  it.  For  all  the  hopes  and  expecta- 
tions that  we  have,  or  can  have,  from  the  exercise  of 
any  ecclesiastical  office,  by  whomsoever  performed,  are 
grounded  only  upon  Christ's  promise  to  the  oflSce  itself, 
to  be  present  with  it  by  his  Holy  Spirit ;  without  which, 
all  the  fine  words  and  phrases  in  the  world  can  never 
mortify  one  lust,  nor  convert  one  soul  to  God  and  good- 
ness. And  therefore  ye,  whensoever  you  address  your- 
selves to  the  public  prayers  of  our  Church,  to  hear  God's 
word  read  or  "preached,  or  to  receive  the  Holv  Sacra- 
ment, still  keep  the  eye  of  your  faith  fixed  upon  Christ, 
as  there  really  present  according  to  his  promise,  ready  to 
dispense  his  heavenly  blessings  by  his  Holy  Spiritfwork- 
ing  together  with  the  ordinance,  to  make  it  accomplish 
the  end  of  its  institution,  even  your  sanctification  in  this 
world,  and  your  eternal  salvation  in  the  world  to  come. 
Do  but  observe  these  few  rules,  in  all  your  solemn  devo- 
tions, as  performed  by  that  part  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
which,  by  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  is  settled 
amongst  you  ;  and  then  I  dare  assure  you,  in  the  name 


WITH    HIS   MINISTERS.  39 

of  my  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ,  that  you  will  all 
experience  the  truth  of  what  you  have  now  heard,  even 
that  Christ  is  always  present  with  his  Apostles  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  office  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
.  Moreover,  from  the  premises  duly  weighed,  you  may 
all  very  easily  observe,  what  reason  you  all  have  to  con- 
tinue steadfast  in  the  communion  of  our  Church,  wherein 
the  Word  and  Sacraments  are  so  powerfully  and  effect- 
ually administered,  and  not  to  deviate  from  her,  either 
into  popery  on  the  one  hand,  or  schism  on  the  other. 
For,  as  to  popery,  although  we  do  not  deny  but  that  the 
apostolical  succession  hath  been  continued  in  the  Church 
of  Rome  ;  yet  we  cannot  but  affirm  also,  that  they  have 
made  very  bad  use  of  it,  or  rather,  have  most  egregiously 
abused  it :  having  clogged  the  several  offices  with  so 
many  superstitious  ceremonies,  that  they  quench  the 
Spirit  which  should  inflame  and  quicken  them,  or  else 
perform  them  so  imperfectly  and  irregularly,  that  they 
are  not  the  same  that  were  instituted  by  Christ,  and  so 
not  capable  of  having  this  promise  fulfilled  to  them.  I 
shall  instance  only  in  two,  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

As  for  the  first,  the  public  and  solemn  reading  of  the 
Word  of  God  by  a  minister  of  Christ,  lawfully  ordained 
and  appointed  thereunto,  I  look  upon  it  as  a  thing  of 
much  greater  consequence,  than  it  is  commonly  thought 
to  be :  yea,  I  cannot  but  reckon  it  amongst  the  most 
useful  and  prevalent  means  of  grace,  that  we  do  or  can 
enjoy.  For  although  it  be  our  duty  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures in  private,  which  I  hope  you  all  do,  yet  none  of  you 
but  may  find  by  experience,  that  a  chapter  once  read  in 
public,  as  before  described,  is  of  greater  force,  and  makes 
deeper  impression  upon  you,  than  if  you  run  it  ten  times 


40  Christ's  presence 

over  by  yourselves.  And  the  reason  is,  because  the 
same  Spirit,  which  indited  the  Scriptures,  accompanies 
such  solemn  reading  of  them,  and  sets  it  home  upon  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  them  that  hear  it.  So  that 
besides  the  majesty  and  authority  that  appear  in  the 
Scriptures  themselves,  as  they  are  the  very  word  of  God, 
much  more  than  any  exposition  of  them  can  be  ;  there 
is  likewise  at  such  a  time  the  power  and  efficacy  of  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  then  present,  to  press  and  enforce  it  upon 
the  minds  of  all  such  as  duly  attend  to  the  reading  of 
them.  But  now,  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  all  this  is 
lost.  For  although  they  read  the  Scriptures  indeed,  yet 
they  read  them  as  they  do  their  prayers,  in  an  unknown 
tono-ue,  at  least  to  the  greatest  part  of  the  congregation, 
and  commonly  to  the  very  reader  himself.  By  which 
means  the  people  are  deprived,  not  only  of  the  Scriptures 
themselves,  but  likev/ise  of  the  assistance  of  God's  Spirit, 
which  otherwise  would  accompany  the  reading  of  them. 
For  as  they  order  the  matter,  the  Spirit  of  God  himself 
cannot  make  his  own  word  effectual  to  their  salvation 
without  a  miracle.  He  nmst  first  give  them  the  gift  of 
tono-ues,  and  make  them  understand  a  language  they 
never  learned,  before  it  is  possible  for  him  to  make  his 
own  word  of  any  use  or  advantage  to  them.  For  he 
never  works  upon  our  minds,  but  in  a  way  suitable  to 
our  natures,  as  we  are  rational  creatures,  so  as  first  to 
clear  up  our  apprehensions  of  the  good  he  propounds  to 
us,  and  so  incline  our  w^ills  to  the  embracement  of  it. 
But  where  the  w^ord  of  God  is  propounded  in  an  unknown 
tongue,  it  is  iinpossible  for  the  people  to  have  any  appre- 
hensions of  it  at  all,  for  the  Spirit  of  God  to  work  upon, 
and  to  clear  up  so  as  to  influence  the  will  by  them.  By 
which  means  the  word  of  God  itself  is  made  of  little  or 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  41 

no  effect  to  those  who  hve  in  the  commanion  of  that 
Church. 

The  same  reason  holds  good  also,  as  to  the  Sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  administered  by  the  Romish 
Church.  For  the  whole  office  belonging  to  it  is  wrap- 
ped up  in  a  language  the  people  do  not  understand,  and 
therefore  know  not  what  the  priest  saith,  nor  whether 
he  consecrates  the  host  or  no  ;  only  they  see  him  perform 
a  great  many  ceremonies  as  unintelligible  as  the  language 
he  speaks,  and  at  length  he  puts  a  wafer  into  their  mouths. 
Now  what  is  there  in  all  this,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  can 
make  use  of,  to  the  comfort  and  edification  of  the  peo- 
ple ?  especially  considering  that  the  priest  intends  not  to 
minister  the  Spirit  of  Christ  unto  them,  but  only  his  real 
body,  as  they  are  bound  to  believe  the  wafer  to  be.  But 
if  it  was  possible,  as  it  neither  is,  nor  can  be,  to  convert 
the  bread  into  the  body  of  Christ,  and  give  it  to  the  peo- 
ple, what  good  could  that  do  them,  if  abstracted  from 
the  Spirit  ?  for,  as  our  Lord  himself  said,  It  is  the  Spirit 
that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing^  John  vi.  63. 
But  after  all  this,  T  do  not  see  how  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit  can  belong  to  the  Sacrament,  as  they  manage  it. 
For  the  promise  is  made  not  to  any  one  part  of  it  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  other,  but  to  the  whole,  as  it  was  institut- 
ed by  Christ.  And  where  the  institution  is  not  rightly 
observed,  neither  can  the  promise  annexed  to  it  be  per- 
formed. But  it  is  plain,  that  our  Saviour  instituted  the 
cup  as  well  as  the  bread  :  and  it  is  as  plain,  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  administers  the  bread  only,  and  not  the 
cup.  And  therefore  they,  by  depriving  the  people  of 
one  half  of  the  communion,  do  thereby  deprive  them  of 
the  comfort  and  benefit  of  the  whole. 

And  therefore  were  there  no  other,  as  there  are  many, 


42  Christ's  presence 

arguments  to  deter  sober  and  considering  men  from  the 
communion  of  that  Church,  this,  one  would  think,  is  of 
itself  sufficient  to  do  it ;  even  because  those  great  means 
of  grace,  the  Word  and  Sacrament  itself,  are  so  admin- 
istered by  it,  as  to  be  made  of  no  use  at  all  to  the  peo- 
ple. 

And  as  for  schism,  they  certainly  hazard  their  salva- 
tion at  a  strange  rate,  who  separate  themselves  from  such 
a  Church  as  ours  is,  wherein  the  apostolical  succession, 
the  root  of  all  Christian  communion,  has  been  so  entirely 
preserved,  and  the  Word  and  Sacraments  are  so  effectu- 
ally administered  ;  and  all  to  go  into  such  assemblies  and 
meetings,  as  can  have  no  pretence  to  the  great  promise 
in  my  text.  For  it  is  manifest,  that  this  promise  was 
made  only  to  the  Apostles  and  their  successors  to  the 
end  of  the  world.  Whereas  in  the  private  meetings, 
where  their  teachers  have  no  apostolical  or  episcopal  im- 
position of  hands,  they  have  no  ground  to  pretend  to  suc- 
ceed the  Apostles,  nor  by  consequence  any  right  to  the 
Spirit  which  our  Lord  here  promiseth  ;  without  which, 
although  they  preach  their  hearts  out,  I  do  not  see 
what  spiritual  advantage  can  accrue  to  their  hearers  by 
it.  And  therefore,  whatsoever  they  may  think  of  it,  for 
my  own  part,  I  would  not  be  without  this  promise  of 
our  Saviour  for  all  the  world,  as  knowing,  that  not  only 
myself,  but  the  whole  Catholic  Church,  is  highly  con- 
cerned in  it ;  it  being  by  virtue  of  this  promise,  that  the 
Church  is  continually  acted,  guided,  and  assisted  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  so  the  ordinary  means  of  grace  are 
made  effectual  to  salvation,  which  otherwise  would  be  of 
no  force  or  efficacy  at  all.  And  therefore,  to  speak  mo- 
destly, they  must  needs  run  a  very  great  hazard,  who  cut 
themselves  off  from  ours,  and  by  consequence  from  the 


WITH    HIS    MINISTERS.  48 

Catholic  Church,  and  so  render  themselves  incapable  of 
receiving  any  benefit  from  this  promise,  or  fpom  the  means 
of  grace  which  they  do  or  may  enjoy. 

Upon  these,  therefore,  and  such  like  considerations, 
which  this  text  will  readily  suggest  to  your  serious  and 
more  retired  thoughts,  I  humbly  advise  and  beseech  you 
all  in  the  name  of  Christ  your  Saviour,  and  as  you  do 
tender  j^our  salvation  by  him,  that  you  would  not  heark- 
en unto  those,  who  go  about  to  seduce  you  from  our 
'Church,  but  that  you  would  continue  firm  and  faithful  to 
it.  For  so  long  as  you  do  so,  I  dare  undertake  for  you, 
that  you  are  in  the  ready  way  to  heaven.  But  if  you 
once  forsake  that,  whither  you  will  next  go,  I  know  not ; 
no,  nor  you  neither. 

But  when  I  speak  of  your  continuing  firm  and  faithful 
to  our  Church,  I  do  not  mean  that  you  should  only  talk 
high  for  her,  much  less  inveigh  against  her  adversaries, 
or  damn  all  those  who  are  not  of  her  communion  ;  for  this 
is  contrary  to  the  Divine  and  apostolical  spirit  that  is  in 
her,  which  is  a  spirit  of  meekness,  and  soberness,  and 
charity.  But  my  meaning  is,  that  you  firmly  believe 
whatsoever  she,  from  the  word  of  God,  propounds  as  an 
article  of  faith,  and  faithfully  perform  whatsoever  she, 
from  the  same  word,  requires  as  a  necessary  duty  to 
God  or  man  ;  and,  by  consequence,  so  live  in  the  com- 
munion of  our  Church,  as  to  live  up  to  the  rules  and 
constitutions  of  it. 

And  0  that  all  we,  who  are  here  present,  and  all  that 
profess  to  be  of  our  Church,  wheresoever  they  are,  would 
for  the  future  do  so !  what  a  holy,  what  a  happy  peo- 
ple should  we  then  be  !  how  pious  towards  God,  how 
loyal  to  our  sovereign,  how  just  and  charitable  towards 
all  men  !     This  would  be  the  way  to  convince  our  ad- 


44  CHRIST^S    PRESENCE. 

versaries  of  their  errors  and  mistakes,  when  they  see 
how  far  we  excel  them  in  virtue  and  good  works :  and 
this  would  be  the  way,  too,  to  secure  our  Church  against 
all  the  attempts  that  men  or  devils  can  make  upon  her. 
For  then  our  Lord  himself  would  delight  to  dwell 
amongst  us,  and  be  alw^ays  present  with  us,  not  only  by 
his  Spirit,  but  likewise  by  his  power  too.  And  if  he  be 
with  us,  we  need  not  fear  what  flesh  can  do  against  us  ; 
so  that  we  may  lay  it  down  as  a  most  certain  truth,  that 
our  Church  can  never  be  destroyed  but  by  itself.  For  if 
we  do  not  first  fail  of  performing  our  duty  unto  him,  be 
sure  Christ  will  never  fail  of  performing  his  promise  un- 
to us.  But  how  proud,  how  malicious  soever  our  adver- 
saries are,  and  M^hatsoever  designs  they  may  carry  on 
against  us,  he  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  will  laugh  them 
to  scorn,  our  Lord  will  have  them  in  derision  :  he  will 
abate  their  pride,  assuage  their  malice,  or  else  confound 
their  devices,  so  as  to  make  them  fall  themselves  into 
the  same  pit  that  they  dig  for  others.  And  notwithstand- 
ing all  their  endeavors  to  the  contrary,  he  will  settle  our 
Church  upon  such  foundations,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
itself  shall  never  be  able  to  prevail  against  it.  Neither 
will  he  only  continue  his  Church  to  us,  but  likewise  his 
Spirit  to  our  Church,  so  as  always  to  perform  this  pro- 
mise in  my  text,  io,  /  am  with  you  alway^  even  imto  the 
end  of  the  world.     Amen. 

O  blessed  Jesu  !  thou  eternal  Son  of  God,  to  whom, 
with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  everlasting  honor, 
praise,  and  glory,  from  this  time  forth  and  for  evermore. 


SERMON  II. 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 


Acts  i.  26. 

And  they  gave  forth  their  lots,  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias.    And  he  was 
numbered  with  the  eleven  Apostles. 

This  portion  of  Scripture,  appointed  for  the  Epistle 
this  day,  suits  as  well  with  the  work  that  is  to  be  now 
done,  as  it  doth  with  the  day  for  which  it  is  appointed.  It 
is  appointed  for  the  feast  of  St.  Matthias,  whose  memory 
we  this  day  celebrate  ;  of  whom  we  have  read,  that  he 
was  taken  into  the  number  of  apostles  in  the  Church  of 
Christ.  And  there  are  several  persons  here  present,  to 
be  ordained  now  into  the  sacred  ministry  of  the  same 
Church,  whereof  he  was  ordained  an  apostle.  And 
therefore  I  shall  not  insist  upon  the  words  themselves, 
but  I  shall  take  occasion  from  hence  to  discourse  of  Ordi- 
nation in  general,  under  which,  that  of  St.  Matthias  in 
particular  will  come  in  of  course. 

Now  by  Ordination  in  general,  I  mean,  the  setting 

apart  some  certain  persons  to  direct,  govern,  assist,  and 

influence  others  in  the  public  worship  of  Almighty  God, 

and  to  administer  such  means  unto  them  as  he  hath 

3* 


46  THE   INSTITUTION    OK    MINISTERS. 

appointed  for  their  eternal  salvation.  Concerning  which, 
\ve  shall  consider  two  things  : 

First,  The  necessity  of  it.     And, 

Secondly,  The  way  and  manner  of  performing  it. 

As  to  the  first,  we  need  not  say  much,  it  being  a  thing 
that  mankind  in  general  seems  to  be  agreed  in.  For  as 
there  is  no  nation  in  the  world,  but  where  they  pro- 
fess some  kind  of  religion  or  other  ;  so  there  is  no  religion 
professed  in  the  world,  but  where  they  have  some  per- 
sons or  other  set  apart  for  the  celebration  of  the  several 
rites  and  ceremonies  in  it ;  without  which,  indeed,  it  is 
impossible  that  any  religion  should  subsist.  For  if  no 
places  were  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  God,  men  would 
soon  worship  him  nowhere ;  if  no  times,  they  would 
never  worship  him ;  so  if  no  persons  were  set  apart  for 
it,  none  would  ever  do  it  at  all,  at  least  not  as  they 
ought. 

And  if  it  be  so  in  natural,  how  much  more  in  revealed 
religion,  of  which  this  seems  to  be  one  of  the  integral 
or  essential  parts  ;  without  which,  it  is  not  that  religion 
which  God  hath  revealed.  For  whensoever  he,  the 
great  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  world,  hath  revealed 
his  will  and  pleasure  to  his  creatures  how  he  would  have 
them  worship  and  serve  him  that  made  them  ;  he  hath 
still  at  the  same  time  constituted  certain  officers  amongst 
them,  to  assist  them  in  it :  which  officers,  being  as  it 
were,  his  own  domestics,  or  immediate  servants  or  mi- 
nisters, waiting  continually  upon  himself  and  his  service, 
he  always  hath  reserved  to  himself  the  constitution  or 
ordination  of  them ;  not  suffering  any  one  that  had  a 
mind  to  it  to  meddle  with  anything  belonging  to  the  said 
offices,  without  his  leave  and  order  first  obtained.  And 
if  any  presume  to  do  it,  he  doth  not  only  make  ^vhat  they 


THE    mSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  47 

do  void,  and  of  no  effect,  but  he  punisheth  them  severely 
for  it :  as  we  find  by  many  instances  in  Holy  Scripture. 

Hence  the  Apostle  saith,  No  man  taketh  this  honor 
unto  himself^  hut  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron, 
Heb.  V.  4,  that  is,  no  man  can  be  really  a  priest,  a  minis 
ter  of  God,  as  Aaron  was,  but  such  as  are  called  and 
constituted  by  God  himself,  as  he  was.  And  they  that 
do  undertake  the  said  ministry  without  such  a  call,  what* 
soever  they  may  fancy  or  pretend,  they  are  not  God's 
ministers  :  and  therefore  all  they  do  is  in  vain,  and  to  no 
purpose,  as  the  Apostle  saith  eleswhere,  Hotu  shall  they 
preach  except  they  be  sent  ?  Rom.  x.  15.  They  may 
speak  the  same  words,  deliver  the  same  truths,  press  the 
same  duties,  as  they  do,  who  are  really  God's  ministers  ; 
but  this  is  not  preaching,  properly  so  called  :  they  do  not 
publish  and  proclaim  the  will  of  God,  with  any  power  or 
authority  over  their  hearers,  for  they  have  received 
none  from  God,  as  not  being  called  and  sent  by  him. 

This  the  Apostles  and  first  disciples  of  our  blessed  Sa* 
viour  were  so  sensible  of,  that  when  they  wanted  an 
apostle,  although  there  were  doubtless  many  excellent 
persons  amongst  them,  that  might  think  themselves  fit  for 
the  place,  yet  none  of  them  would  undertake  it  of  their 
own  heads ;  but  they  all,  with  one  accord,  left  it  to  Al- 
mighty God,  to  determine  and  declare  whom  he  had 
chosen  and  called  to  it :  who  having,  by  his  disposal  of 
the  lots  they  cast,  accordingly  acquainted  them  that 
Matthias  was  the  person  he  pitched  upon,  he  was  pre- 
sently numbered  with  the  Apostles. 

But  all  this  will  appear  more  clearly  under  the  second 
head,  which  I  design  principally  to  consider  ;  and  that 
is,  the  way  and  manner,  whereby  God  hath  been  pleased 
to  ordain  and  set  apart  persons  for  his  own  service  and 


48  THE    INSTITUTION    OF   MINISTERS, 

ministry.  In  speaking  to  which,  I  shall  not  trouble  you 
with  any  conjectures  how  this  w^as  done  in  the 
Church  before  Moses's  time,  but  shall  begin  there,  where 
we  have  a  certain  rule  to  walk  by. 

In  the  day  therefore  that  the  Lord  smote  all  the 
first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  he  sanctified  to  himself 
all  the  first-born  among  the  children  of  Israel,  Numb, 
iii.  13.  But  afterwards,  instead  of  them,  he  took  one 
whole  tribe,  even  the  tribe  of  Levi,  ver.  12,  they  being 
about  the  same  number  with  the  first-born  of  all  Israel. 
For  all  the  males  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  from  a  month  old 
and  upwards,  were  numbered  22,000  ;  and  all  the  first- 
born of  the  males  among  the  children  of  Israel  were 
22,273.  So  that  all  the  first-born  males  of  Israel  w'ere 
only  273  more  than  the  Levites  ;  wdiieh  odd  number  be- 
ing redeemed  at  five  shekels  apiece  by  the  poll,  the  whole 
tribe  of  Levi  was  from  thenceforward  set  ajDart  to  be  em- 
ployed wholly  in  the  service  of  God,  instead  of  all  the 
first-born  in  Israel,  Numb.  iii.  8.  And  out  of  this  tribe 
he  chose  one  family,  even  that  of  Aaron,  to  minister  con- 
tinually to  him  in  the  priest's  office  ;  to  burn  incense,  to 
slay  and  offer  sacrifices,  to  instruct  the  people  in  his  law^, 
and  the  like.  And  out  of  this  family,  he  chose  Aaron 
himself,  and  so  the  first-born  of  that  family  all  along,  to  be 
his  high-priest ;  to  whom  he  appointed  not  only  the  over- 
sight of  all  the  rest,  but  likewise  some  certain  offices, 
which  no  other  Priests  or  Levites  could  meddle  with. 

So  that  we  here  have  three  distinct  orders  of  men, 
settled  and  established  by  God  himself  to  minister  unto 
him,  the  High-priests,  the  Priests,  and  the  Levites.  Which 
last,  in  Moses's  time,  were  employed  wholly  about  the 
tabernacle  and  the  vessels  belonging  to  it ;  but  when  the 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  49 

temple   was  built,  they  were  also  made  treasurers,   and 
judges,  and  porters,  and  singers,  1  Chron.  xxiii.  45. 

Now  God  having  thus  constituted  these  several  orders 
of  men  for  his  own  service,  he  gave  directions  how  they 
should  be  all  consecrated  to  their  several  offices.  First, 
Aaron  by  himself,  as  the  High-priest ;  then  his  sons,  as 
the  second  or  ordinary  Priests,  Levit.  viii.,  and  after- 
wards the  Levites,  Numb.  viii.  By  which  consecration, 
not  only  the  persons  then  in  being,  but  their  posterity, 
were  all  ordained  into  the  same  offices  that  they  them- 
selves were.  By  Aaron's  ordination  into  the  office  of 
High-priest,  the  first-born,  or  eldest  sons  of  his  family, 
were  ordained  so  too.  By  his  sons'  consecration,  all 
their  sons,  or  the  younger  sons  of  that  family,  were  or- 
dained priests.  And  so  for  the  Levites,  when  they  were 
consecrated,  all  the  males  that  should  ever  proceed  from 
them,  were  consecrated  together  with  them,  as  being 
then  contained  in  their  loins.  So  that  although  there 
might  be  some  certain  ceremonies  used  at  their  entering 
upon  the  execution  of  their  office,  when  they  came  to 
years  of  discretion,  yet  they  were  not  properly  ordained 
or  consecrated  again  ;  but  the  office  came  to  them  in 
course,  or,  if  you  will,  ex  traduce  ;  the  ordination,  which 
their  ancestors  had  from  God  himself,  being  by  virtue  of 
this  institution  and  command,  propagated  and  derived 
down  to  them.  And  thus  it  continued  all  along,  during 
the  Mosaic  dispensation,  which  was  about  2000  years, 
even  until  the  death  of  our  blessed  Saviour  ;  which  be- 
ing typified  and  foreshown  by  the  sacrifices  which  these 
priests  offered,  the  priesthood  itself  must  needs  continue 
in  force  and  virtue  till  that  was  accomplished. 

And  therefore  all  the  while  that  Christ  lived,  he  made 
no  alteration  at  all  in  it ;  neither  did  he  ever ,  properly 


§0  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

abrogate,  or  repeal  the  laws  that  were  formerly  made 
about  it,  but  when  he  died,  they  expired  together  with 
him  ;  both  the  time,  and  the  end,  for  which  they  were 
made,  being  now  accomplished.  But  from  that  time 
forward,  though  the  Jewish  nation  still  continued  till  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  which  was  forty  years  after, 
yet  they  had  not  really  any  priesthood  among  th«m,  the 
time  for  which  it  was  ordained  being  now  expired. 

When  our  Lord  therefore  was  upon  earth,  fore- 
seeino;  that  all  the  Mosaic  orders  would  cease  in  course 
upon  his  death,  and  knowing  that  his  Church  could  never 
subsist  without  some  such  orders  of  men  set  apart  for 
the  administration  'of  his  Word  and  Sacraments ;  be- 
fore he  died,  he  took  care  to  lay  the  platform  of  others, 
suitable  to  his  own  religion.  For  which  purpose,  out 
of  the  many  disciples  that  followed  him,  he  first  chose 
twelve  Apostles  ;  to  whom  he  gave  commission  to  bap- 
tize, to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  to  work  miracles  for  the 
confirmation  of  it,  Matt.  x.  And  afterwards  he  sent  out 
seventy  other  disciples,  and  gave  them  power  also  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  cast  out  devils  in  his  name,  Luke 
X.  So  that  he  still  kept  up  the  same  number  of  orders 
in  his  Church  whilst  himself  lived,  that  was  in  the  Jewish 
Chruch :  for  he  himself  was  truly  the  High  Priest,  of 
whom  they,  under  the  Law,  were  only  types.  Then 
there  were  the  twelve  Apostles,  answerable  to  the  priests 
of  the  second  order ;  and  the  seventy  disciples,  resem- 
bling the  great  number  of  Levites. 

But  all  this  while  we  do  not  read  that  the  Apostles 
had  any  solemn  consecration  to  their  oliice,  during  our 
Saviour's  life.  It  is  said  indeed,  in  Mark  iii.  14.,  that 
he  ordained  twelve  ;  but  the  words  are  ^noirjas  dadetta^ 
he  made  or  appointed  twelve  to  be  his  apostles,  or  mes- 


THE    INSTITUTION    O^    MINISTERS*  51 

sengers»  But  we  do  not  find  that  he  ordained  them,  so 
as  to  confer  any  sacerdotal  power  upon  them.  He  pro- 
mised indeed  St.  Peter,  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles  with 
him,  that  he  would  give  them  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  Matt.  xvi.  19.  But  they  were  as  yet  in  the 
hands  of  the  Levitical  priesthood ;  and  he  would  not 
take  them  from  thence  to  give  them  to  his  Apostles,  so 
long  as  that  priesthood  continued  in  force.  But  he  was 
no  sooner  dead  and  risen  again,  but  he  presently  per- 
formed his  promise.  For  then  the  Levitical  priesthood 
being  expired,  and  by  consequence  the  kej^^s,  which  he 
had  before  committed  to  it  by  his  servant  Moses,  return- 
ing on  course  into  his  own  hands,  he  then,  according  to 
his  promise,  gave  them  to  his  Apostles. 

For  upon  the  same  day  that  he  rose  again,  in  the  even- 
ing, his  Apostles  being  met  together,  he  came  to  them, 
and  said  to  them.  Peace  be  unto  you  :  as  my  Father  hath 
sent  ine,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  so, 
he  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost :  whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted 
unto  them  ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retain- 
ed; John  XX.  21,  22,  23.  As  my  Father  sent  me,  even 
so  I  send  you  ;  that  is,  as  my  Father  sent  me  to  preach 
the  Gospel,  by  anointing  me  with  his  Holy  Spirit,  Isa. 
Ixi.  1,  Luke  iv.  18,  even  so,  after  the  self-same  manner, 
I  send  you  :  receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;  at  the  speaking 
of  which  words  he  breathed  upon  them,  and  so  issued 
forth  the  Holy  Spirit  from  himself  into  them.  Which, 
as  it  is  an  undeniable  argument  of  the  Spirit's  procession 
from  the  Son  as  well  as  from  the  Father  ;  so  it  was  the 
highest  and  truest  consecration  of  the  Apostles  that  could 
be,  far  beyond  that  of  Aaron  and  his  sons.  For  they 
were  anointed  only  with  material  ointment,  which  was 


5^  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

poured  upon  Aaron's  head,  Levit.  viii.  12,  and  sprinkled 
afterwards  upon  his  and  his  sons'  garments,  together  with 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifice,  ver.  30.  But  this  was  only  a 
type  of  that  Holy  Spirit  wherewith  the  Apostles  were 
anointed  by  our  Lord,  when  he  breathed  it  immediately, 
from  himself  into  them. 

And  now  were  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  ac- 
cording to  the  promise  before  mentioned,  given  to  the 
Apostles.  And  therefore  our  Lord,  after  he  had  breathed 
upon  them,  saying,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;  presently 
adds.  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto 
them ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained. 
Whereby  all  sacerdotal  power  was  now  conferred  upon 
the  Apostles,  even  whatsoever  is  necessary^  to  the  gov- 
ernment and  edification  of  the  Church,  to  the  world's  end. 
And  therefore,  immediately  before  his  ascension,  the 
eleven  Apostles  being  met  together  again,  in  the  place 
that  he  appointed  them,  our  Lord  goes  to  them  again, 
and  saith.  All  power  is  given  to  me,  both  in  heaven  and 
earth  :  go  ye  therefore,  and  make  all  nations  my  disciples, 
by  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you.  And,  lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  That  is, 
I,  by  my  Holy  Spirit,  which  I  have  breathed  into  you, 
am  now  with  you  ;  and  so  I  am  always  with  you  and 
your  successors  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Now  the  Apostles  being  thus  solemnly  ordained  and 
consecrated  by  Christ  himself,  and  having  received  so 
ample  a  commission  from  him,  soon  after  his  ascension 
into  heaven,  they,  with  some  other  disciples,  met  toge- 
ther, and  consulted  how  to  fill  up  their  number  again  ; 
for  Judas  Iscariot,  who  was  one  of  the  twelve,  by  betray- 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  53 

ing  his  master,  had  lost  both  his  office  and  his  hfe,  and 
another  was  now  to  take  his  bishopric,  or  apostleship, 
according  to  the  prophecy  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  which 
St.  Peter  put  them  in  mind  of.  And  therefore  they  all 
agree  to  have  the  number  made  up  again  out  of  these, 
who  had,  like  the  other  Apostles,  been  conversant  with 
our  blessed  Saviour  all  along,  from  first  to  last.  And 
they  found  two  considerable  persons  among  them,  who 
had  been  so,  Joseph  surnamed  Justus,  and  Matthias  ; 
both,  in  their  apprehensions,  equally  qualified  for  the 
place  :  yet  nevertheless,  they  would  not  undertake  to 
choose  either  of  them.  Forasmuch  as  the}'-  themselves, 
having  been  chosen  by  Christ  himself,  it  was  not  fit  to 
take  any  into  their  number  but  whom  Christ  himself  had 
chosen  :  and  therefore  they  resolved  to  refer  it  wholly 
unto  him. 

But  how  could  that  be  done,  now  that  Christ  was  gone 
from  them  into  heaven  ?  There  was  no  other  way  but  to 
cast  lots,  which  should  be  the  person  ;  a  way  that  had 
been  commonly  used  in  such  cases.  For  by  the  com- 
mand of  God  himself,  lots  were  cast  upon  the  two  goats, 
which  should  be  the  Lord's,  and  which  should  be  the 
scape-goat,  Lev.  xvi.  S.  The  land  of  Canaan  was  di- 
vided among  the  twelve  tribes  by  lot.  Josh,  xviii.  6.  Saul 
was  chosen  king  of  Israel  by  lot,  1  Sam.  x.  2L  The 
several  ministrations  and  charges  of  the  priests  were  di- 
vided amongst  them  by  lot,  1  Chron.  xxiv.  6.  There 
are  many  such  instances  in  the  Old  Testament,  of  refer- 
ring doubtful  cases  to  God's  dec4sion,  by  casting  lots  upon 
them  ;  for,  as  the  wise-man  saith.  The  lot  is  cast  into  the 
lap,  hut  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the  Lord,  Prov. 
xvi.  33. 

This  course  therefore  the  Apostles  took,  to  know  which 


54  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

of  these  two  persons  our  Lord  would  have  taken  into 
their  number ;  but  before  they  cast  their  lots,  they  first 
address  themselves  in  a  more  solemn  manner  to  Christ 
himself,  saying,  Thoii^  Lord^  which  knoweth  the  hearts  of 
nil  men,  show  whether  of  these  two  thou  hast  chosen,  that  he 
may  take  part  of  this  ministrij  and  apostleship,  from  which 
Judas  hy  transgression  fell,  that  he  might  go  to  his  own 
place.  Where  we  may  observe,  they  do  not  pray  that 
our  Lord  would  choose  one  now,  but  that  he  would  show 
whether  of  the  two  he  had  chosen  already  ;  for  so  the 
words  run,  ix  toj5t(wv  rS)v  dvo  ava  6y  i^sle^M,  which  one  of 
these  two  thou  hast  chosen  ;  as  supposing  that  he  had 
chosen  one  of  them  already,  though  they  did  not  know 
which.  And  therefore,  when  they  had  cast  lots,  and  the 
lot  was  fallen  upon  Matthias,  they  took  it  for  granted,  as 
they  well  might,  that  he  was  the  person  whom  Christ 
had  before  chosen  to  be  one  of  their  number  ;  and  there- 
fore, without  any  more  ado,  he  ivas  numbered  with  the 
eleven  apostles,  so  as  to  make  up  the  number  of  twelve 
again. 

But  here  it  may  be  asked,  how  this  Matthias  should 
be  an  apostle  of  equal  power  with  the  other,  seeing  he 
was  not  present  when  the  other  were  ordained  by  our 
Saviour,  and  received  the  same  Spirit  from  him.  I  an- 
swer, that  the  same  doubt  may  be  made  concerning  St. 
Thomas,  for  neither  was  he  present  when  our  Lord 
breathed  his  Holy  Spirit  upon  his  other  apostle  ;  and  yet 
none  ever  denied  but  that  he  was  an  apostle  of  equal  au- 
thority with  those  that  were  then  present.  And  indeed, 
the  question  concerning  both  may  be  clearly  answered 
by  a  parallel  case  :  for  we  read,  Nuiub.  xi.,  how  that 
when  Moses  had,  by  the  appointment  of  God,  chosen 
eventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel  to  be  endowed  with  his 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  55 

Spirit,  and  had  ordered  them  to  go  to  the  tabernacle  of 
the  congregation,  the  Lord  came  down  in  a  cloudy  and 
spake  unto  hinij  and  took  of  the  Spirit  that  was  upon  him^ 
and  gave  it  unto  the  seventy  elders  ;  and  it  came  to  pass, 
that  when  the  Spirit  rested  upon  them^  they  prophesied,  and 
did  not  cease.  But  two  of  the  seventy  remained  in  the 
camp,  Eldad  and  Medad  ;  and  though  they  were  not  pre- 
sent, the  Spirit  rested  upon  them  also,  and  they  prophe- 
sied as  well  as  the  other.  And  this  remark  is  put  upon 
them,  that  they  were  of  them  that  were  written,  but  went  not 
to  the  tabernacle.  Numb.  xi.  25,  2Q.  The  case  is  the 
self-same  here  :  for  as  Eldad  and  Medad,  being  chosen 
by  Moses  into  the  number  of  the  seventy,  received  the 
some  Spirit  which  was  given  to  the  other  sixty-eight, 
although  they  were  not  present  at  the  place  where  the 
Lord  came  down  in  a  cloud  to  them ;  so  here,  Thomas 
and  Matthias  being  in  the  number  of  the  twelve,  which 
were  chosen  by  our  Lord  to  be  his  Apostles,  although 
they  were  not  present  at  the  place  where  our  Lord  gave 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  other  ten,  yet  they  received  it  as 
effectually  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  the  other  did. 
For  wheresoever  they  were,  the  Holy  Ghost  breathed 
upon  the  Apostles  as  such,  rested  upon  them  also,  be- 
cause they  also  were  chosen  into  the  number  of  Apostles, 
even  Matthias  himself,  as  I  observed  before. 

This  formal  admission  of  St.  Matthias  into  the  num- 
ber of  the  Apostles,  was  upon  one  of  the  ten  days  be- 
tween the  ascension  of  our  Lord  to  heaven,  and  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
Acts  ii.  And  then  was  fulfilled  what  our  Saviour  had 
promised  his  Apostles,  saying,  And  I  will  pray  the 
Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he 
may  abide  with  you  for  ever,  even  the  Spirit  o    truth,  John 


56  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

xiv.  16,  which  therefore  is  called  another  Comforter, 
because  he  was  to  supply  our  Saviour's  place  and  pre- 
sence upon  earth  ;  guide  his  Apostles  into  all  truth  ;  and 
direct,  assist,  and  order  the  afiairs  of  his  Church  until  his 
coming  again.  And  therefore  it  was,  that  now,  upon  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  he  made,  as  it  were,  his  public  en- 
trance into  the  Church,  appearing  visibly  to  the  disci- 
ples, and  enabling  them  to  speak  all  manner  of  languages, 
in  order  to  the  conversion  of  all  nations  to  the  faith  of 
Christ. 

Now  this  Holy  Spirit  of  Christ,  having  thus  taken 
upon  him  this  office,  to  show  that  he  could  and  would  do 
for  the  Church  whatsoever  our  Saviour  himself  either 
would  or  could  was  he  still  present  in  person,  as  well  as 
by  this  his  Spirit :  hence,  as  he  had  chosen  twelve  Apos- 
tles, his  Spirit  chooses  two  other,  in  as  plain  and  appa- 
rent a  manner  as  Christ  himself  had  done  it.  For  there 
being  certain  prophets  and  teachers  in  the  Church  at  An- 
tioch,  Barnabas  J  Simeon,  Lucius,  Manaen,  and  Saul,  as 
they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy  Ghost 
said.  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul,  for  the  work  where- 
unto  I  have  called  them^  Acts  xiii.  1,2.  From  whence 
we  may  observe,  that  he  had  before  this  called  them  to 
the  work  ;  and  now  he  expressly  commands  the  prophets 
and  teachers  there  present  to  separate,  or  set  them  apart 
for  it.  He  did  not  employ  the  Apostles  that  were  con- 
secrated by  our  Lord  to  do  it,  that  their  consecration 
might  appear  to  be  wholly  from  himself;  and  so  the 
Church  might  rest  fully  satisfied,  that  although  our  Sa- 
viour, the  head  of  it,  be  gone  to  heaven,  yet  he  hath  still, 
and  always  will  have,  one  upon  earth,  that  can  exercise 
his  power  so  effectually,  that  he  himself  may  be  truly 
said  to  be  always  Mith  it,  as  he  said  he  would.     But 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  57 

howsoever,  notwithstanding  that  he  himself  had  called 
them,  yet  he  would  have  them  publicly  ordained  by  the 
persons  before  mentioned,  supposed  to  be  the  bishops  of 
Syria,  to  show  that  whatsoever  call  from  him  any  should 
afterwards  pretend  to,  yet  he  would  never  employ  them 
in  his  work  and  ministry,  until  they  were  publicly  ordain- 
ed, and  separated  for  it,  by  the  governors  of  the  Church 
empowered  by  him  to  do  it.  And  then  he  would  have  it 
done  too  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  to  show  that  this 
was  the  way  that  he  had  appointed  for  it.  For  it  is  said, 
that  when  theij  had  fasted  and  prayed^  and  laid  their  hands 
on  them,  they  sent  them  away,  ver.  3 ;  or,  as  the  word 
^nllvcrav  signifies,  they  dismissed  them,  or  let  them  de- 
part :  for  they  were  not  properly  sent  by  them,  but  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  as  it  is  expressly  said  in  the  following 
words.  So  then,  they  being  sent  forth,  ixTtsjtKpdivTsg,  were 
sent  forth  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  as  the  twelve  were 
sent  by  Christ,  so  were  these  two,  Barnabas  and  Saul, 
sent  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  so  were  as  truly  his  apostles 
as  the  other.  And  therefore  one  of  them,  even  Saul, 
otherwise  called  Paul,  is  not  only  called  an  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ,  but  saith  expressly,  that  he  was  so,  not  of 
men,  nor  by  man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the  Father, 
Gal.  i.  1  ;  because  he  was  thus  sent  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
himself,  the  same  God  with  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

From  whence  we  may  observe,  by  the  way,  upon  what 
good  grounds  the  last  revisers  of  the  Common  Prayer 
added  two  new  holidays  in  the  Calendar,  which  had  been 
omitted  in  the  former  editions,  even  the  Conversion  of  St. 
Paul,  and  St.  Barnabas's  day  ;  for  these  being  apostles 
of  the  same  power  and  dignity  with  the  other  twelve, 
there  was  all  the  reason  in  the  \i'orld  that  we  should  com- 
memorate and  give  God  thanks  for  them  as  well  as  for 


58  THE    INSTITUTION    OF   MINISTERS. 

the  other.  But  to  distinguish  them  from  the  others,  the 
eves  or  vigils  of  these  days  are  not  appointed  to  be  ob- 
served, so  as  those  of  the  others  are. 

'Now  the  Apostles  being  all  thus  ordained  and  conse- 
crated by  Christ's  Holy  Spirit,  they  were  thereby  invest- 
ed with  full  power  and  authority,  not  only  to  preach  and 
propagate  the  Gospel,  and  to  add  to  the  Church  daily 
such  as  should  be  saved,  and  to  rule  and  govern  the  said 
Church  at  present ;  but  likewise  to  institute  and  estab- 
lish such  officers  in  it,  by  whom  it  may  be  rightly  gov- 
erned according  to  our  Saviour's  mind  in  all  future  ages. 
In  order  whereunto,  the  twelve  first  instituted  the  otfice 
of  deacons,  upon  occasion  of  the  Grecians  murmuring 
against  the  Hebrews,  because  their  widows  were  neglect- 
ed in  the  daily  ministration.     For,  it  not  being  fitting  that 
the  Apostles  themselves  should  leave  the  word  to  serve 
tables,  they  ordered  seven  men  of  honest  report  to  be 
chosen  out  for  that  work ;  which  seven  being  set  before 
the  Apostles,  they  prayed,  and  then  laid  their  hands  on 
them.  Acts  vi.   6.     By  which  imposition  of  hands  they 
received  power,  not  only  to  look  after  the  widows  and 
poor,  but  also  to  baptize  and  preach  the  Gospel.     For 
Stephen,  who  was  one  of  the  seven,  was  no  sooner  or- 
dained, but  we  presently  find  him  preaching  so  pow- 
erfully,  that    the   Jews    were    not    able    to    resist    the 
wisdom  and   the    Spirit   by  which    he  spake.  Acts  vi. 
10.     And  Philip,  another  of  the  seven,  preached  Christ 
so  effectually  to  the  Samaritans,  that  they  received  the 
word  gladly,  and  were  baptized  of  him  ;  and  so  was  the 
eunuch  too,  that  was  treasurer  to  Candace,  queen  of  the 
Ethiopians,  Acts  viii.  38.     And  this  office  of  deacons, 
thus  instituted  by  the  Apostles,  hath  continued  in  the 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  59 

Church  ever  since,  and  so  must  do  to  the  end  of  the 
world. 

But  these  deacons  being  ordained  only  to  minister  in 
the  Church,  they  could  have  no  share  in  the  government 
of  it :  which  was  the  main  thing  that  the  Apostles  were 
to  take  care  of:  and  therefore,  considering  that  the  Spirit, 
which  they  had  received,  must,  according  to  Christ's 
promise,  abide  with  his  Church  for  ever ;  it  was  neces- 
sary they  should  find  out  some  way,  to  transfer  it  upon 
others  ;  and  so  successively  from  one  to  another,  to  the 
world's  end.  Now  they  found  by  experience,  what  they 
were  doubtless  directed  to  by  the  Holy  Ghost  himself, 
that  upon  whomsoever  they  laid  their  hands  the  Holy 
Ghost  presently  fell  upon  them.  Thus  when  Philip,  the 
aforesaid  deacon,  had  converted  and  baptized  the  Sama- 
ritans, the  Apostles  sent  Peter  and  John  to  them  ;  who 
having  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on  them,  they  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Ghost,  Acts  viii.  17.  Philip  did  not  so 
much  as  offer  to  lay  his  hands  upon  them  ;  and  if  he  had, 
it  would  not  have  done  the  work,  because  he  was  only  a 
deacon,  and  none  of  the  Apostles,  who  had  so  received 
the  Holy  Ghost  themselves,  as  to  have  power  to  confer 
it  upon  others.  As  we  find  St.  Paul  also  did,  by  laying 
his  hands  upon  the  disciples,  at  Ephesus,  Acts  xix.  6. 

Hence  it  is,  that  this  power  always  was,  and  still  is, 
appropriated  only  to  the  Apostles  themselves,  and  their 
successors,  the  bishops  of  the  Church.  And  it  is  that 
which  we  now  call  Confirmation,  when  a  bishop  rightly 
ordained,  after  the  example  of  the  holy  Apostles,  prays 
for  those  that  are  baptized,  and  lays  his  hand  upon  their 
heads,  that  they  may  receive  the  gifts  and  graces  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  to  confirm  them  in  the  faith,  and  in  all  good- 
ness ;  which  duly  performed,  is  certainly  as  effectual  now 


60  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

as  ever,  in  those  who  are  rightly  disposed  and  qualified 
for  it ;  as,  blessed  be  God,  we  find  at  this  very  day,  to. 
our  unspeakable  comfort. 

The  Apostles  therefore,  finding  by  experience  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  given  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  for  the 
confirmation  of  believers  ;  they  could  not  but  conclude 
this  to  be  a  proper  way  also,  for  the  conferring  of  it  upon 
those  who  were  to  succeed  them  in  the  government  of  the 
Church.  Especially  considering,  that  this  was  the  way 
whereby  Joshua,  by  the  command  of  God  himself,  was 
constituted  the  successor  of  Moses  ;  for  Moses  laid  his 
hands  upon  him,  by  which  means  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 
came  upon  him.  Numb,  xxiii.  23,  Deut  xxxiv.  9. 
From  whence  this  rite  was  commonly  used  by  the  Jew- 
ish Church,  in  the  constitution  of  their  governors  ;  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  himself  did  not  only  approve  of  it,  but 
appointed  it  to  be  used  in  the  ordination  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul.  Upon  these  and  the  like  considerations,  the  Apos- 
tles took  this  course  for  the  conveying  of  the  Spirit, 
which  they  had  received,  to  their  successors  in  all  ages. 
For  the  way  whereby  Christ  bestowed  it  upon  the  twelve , 
by  breathing  on  them,  was  proper  and  peculiar  to  him- 
self, from  whom  the  Spirit  proceedeth.  But  this  was  a 
way,  which  both  they  and  their  successors  in  all  ages 
would  be  capable  of:  for  their  bodies,  as  well  as  souls, 
being  made  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  at  their  con- 
secration, whensoever  they  laid  their  hands  upon  any 
person,  so  as  to  touch  his  body,  with  a  design  of  trans- 
ferring the  same  Spirit  upon  him,  it  is  easy  to  imagine 
how  such  a  person  comes  to  be  endowed  with  it :  espe- 
cially, seeing  the  Holy  Ghost  had  instituted  and  appoint- 
ed this  to  be  the  way  of  doing  it,  and  therefore  it  is  im- 
possible it  .should  ever  fail.     Insomuch,  that  as  the  same 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF   MINISTERS.  61 

power  which  w^as  given  to  Aaron  at  his  consecration, 
w^as  propagated  and  continued  in  that  Church  by  succes- 
sive generations  from  father  to  son,  so  long  as  the  Church 
itself  lasted  ;  so  is  the  same  Spirit  and  power,  which  was 
given  to  the  Apostles  at  their  consecration,  propagated 
and  continued  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  by  the  successive 
imposition  of  hands  from  one  to  another,  and  will  be,  so 
long  as  the  world  endureth. 

This,  therefore,  being  the  method  that  the  holy  Apos- 
tles, by  the  direction  of  the  Spirit  itself,  had  agreed  upon 
before  their  dispersions,  wheresoever  any  of  them  went, 
so  soon  as  they  had  converted  any  considerable  number 
to  the  faith,  enough  to  make  a  Church,  before  they  de- 
parted from  them,  they  still  laid  their  hands  upon  one, 
whom  they  judged  the  fittest  among  them,  and  so  left 
the  same  Spirit,  which  they  themselves  had,  with  him, 
for  the  government  and  edification  of  that  Church.     For 
whosoever  was  thus  ordained,  did  by  that  means  receive 
the  Spirit.    And  therefore,  St.  Paul  having  thus  ordained 
Timothy  at  Ephesus,  in  his  second  Epistle  to  him,  he 
useth  these  words.  Wherefore  I  put  thee  in  remembrance^ 
that  thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God  which  is  in  thee,  by  the 
putting  on  of  my  hands  (2  Tim.  i.  6).     And  what  this 
gift  of  God  was,  he  declares  in  the  following  words,  saying, 
for  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power, 
and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind.     As  if  he  should 
have  said.  For  that  Spirit  which  God  hath  given  us, 
even  me  and  thee,  is  not  a  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power, 
to  instruct  and  govern  the  Church  ;  of  love,  to  regulate 
our  passions  in  the  doing  it :  and  of  a  sound  mind,  to 
keep  both  steadfast  in  the  faith  :  plainly  implying,  that  by 
the  laying  of  his  hands  upon  him,  God  had  given  the 
same  Spirit  to  Timothy,  that  he  himself,  the  Apostle,  had, 
4 


62  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

But  elsewhere,  the  same  Apostle  tells  Timothy,  that 
this  gift  was  given  him  by  prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  the  presbytery ,  1  Tim.  iv.  14.  From  whence 
it  may  seem,  that  some  of  the  elders  of  the  Church  join- 
ed with  St.  Paul,  in  laying  their  hands  upon  him  ;  and 
yet  St.  Paul  ascribes  it  wholly  to  the  laying  on  of  his 
hands,  and  saith,  the  gift  was  given  him  by  that,  and  only 
with  the  other,  because  he  being  the  only  Apostle  that 
laid  on  his  hands,  and  so  the  only  person  that  had  power 
by  that  means  to  confer  the  Holy  Spirit,  although  it  was 
given  to  him,  together  with  the  laying  on  of  the  others' 
hands  upon  him,  yet  it  was  not  given  by  that,  but  by  the 
laying  on  of  St.  Paul's  hands^  as  he  himself  saith.  As 
it  is  in  our  Church  at  this  time,  and  so  hath  been  in  the 
Latin  for  many  ages,  in  the  ordination  of  a  priest ;  the 
priests  there  present  join  with  the  bishop  in  their  laying 
their  hands  upon  him,  and  yet  he  is  ordained  only  by  the 
bishop's  laying  on  his  hands.  For  how  many  priests 
soever  lay  their  hands  upon  another's  head,  they  can 
never  make  him  a  real  priest,  unless  there  be  a  bishop 
with  them  ;  but  a  bishop,  by  the  imposition  of  his  hands, 
can  make  a  priest,  although  there  be  never  another  priest 
with  him.  Neither  doth  the  law  require,  that  any 
priests  should  be  present  at  such  ordination,  but  only 
that  the  bishop,  with  the  priests  present  (if  there  happen 
to  be  any),  shall  lay  their  hands  upon  him  that  is  to  be 
ordained  ;  the  imposition  of  the  priests'  hands  being  only 
to  signify  their  consent,  that  such  a  person  should  be 
received  into  their  order,  and  so  take  off  the  blame  from 
the  bishop,  in  case  he  should  prove  to  have  been  unwor- 
thy of  it.  But  still,  it  is  only  by  the  imposition  of  the 
bishop's  hands,  that  he  is  made  a  priest,  as  St.  Paul  saith, 
that  Timothy  received  the  Spirit,  by  the  laying  on  of  his 


THE   INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  63 

hands,  notwithstanding  the  presbytery  joined  with  him 
in  it. 

But  of  this,  the  Spirit's  being  given  by  such  imposi- 
tion of  hands,  so  that  it  is  by  him  principally  that  the 
person  is  ordained,  we  have  a  very  remarkable  instance 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  chap,  xx.,  where  we  read 
how  St.  Paul  having  ordained  many  elders  or  bishops  in 
Asia,  he  summoned  them  to  a  visitation  that  he  held  at 
Miletus,  and  in  the  charge  he  gave  them,  among  other 
things,  he  said,  Take  heed  therefore  to  yourselves^  and  to 
all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you 
overseers^  or  bishops,  ver.  28.  For  from  hence  it  appears, 
that  when  they  were  ordained  by  the  imposition  of  the 
Apostles'  hands,  the  Holy  Ghost  so  came  upon  them, 
that  he  constituted  them  in  the  office  they  were  ordained 
to  :  it  was  he  that  made  them  bishops,  the  apostle^  and 
whosoever  else  might  join  with  him  in  laying  on  of 
hands,  were  only  his  instruments,  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
the  principal  agent  ;  and  so  questionless  he  is,  and 
always  will  be,  in  all  such  ordinations.  So  that  all  who 
are  regularly  ordained,  may  be  truly  and  properly  said 
to  receive  their  power  and  commission  from  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  is  then  conferred  upon  them,  and  so  from 
Christ  himself. 

Having  thus  considered  the  course  that  the  Apostles, 
by  Christ's  direction,  took  and  instituted  in  the  Church, 
for  the  conferring  of  Holy  Orders,  so  as  that  they  might 
transfer  the  same  Spirit,  which  they  themselves  received, 
upon  those  who  were  admitted  into  them,  and  so  con- 
tinue it  in  the  Church  for  ever;  we  may  further  observe^ 
that  besides  that  of  deacons  before  mentioned,  they 
found  it  necessary  to  establish  two  other  orders  in  the 
Church,  to  remain  through  all  ages.     First,  their  own^^ 


64  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

which  we  now  call  the  order  of  bishojDs,  who  are  there- 
fore by  the  ancients  commonly  termed  the  Apostles'  suc- 
cessors, because  that  by  a  successive  imposition  of  hands, 
continued  all  along  from  the  Apostles  themselves,  they 
receive  the  same  Spirit  and  power  which  the  Apostles 
had,  not  only  for  the  administration  of  the  Word  and 
Sacraments,  but  likewise  for  the  government  of  the 
Church,  and  for  the  conferring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the 
imposition  of  their  hands,  as  the  Apostles  did,  both  for 
the  confirmation  of  believers,  and  likev/ise  for  the  ordi- 
nation of  persons  into  their  ov/n  and  other  offices  in  the 
Church. 

The  other  order  is  that  of  priesthood,  which  being  in- 
stituted for  the  due  administration  of  all  the  ordinary 
means  of  grace,  it  was  necessary  that  they,  who  were 
admitted  into  this  order  also,  should  have  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  fountain  of  all  grace,  conferred  upon  them,  to 
influence  their  several  administrations,  without  which  it 
is  impossible  they  should  ever  attain  their  end.  And 
hence  it  is,  that,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  Catho- 
lic and  Apostolic  Church,  though  not  in  that  of  deacons, 
yet  in  the  ordination  of  priests,  as  you  will  see  presently, 
the  bishop,  when  he  lays  his  hand  severally  upon  every 
one  that  receives  that  order,  saith,  Receive  the  Holy 
Ghost  for  ike  office  and  work  of  a  priest  in  the  Church 
of  God  J  now  committed  unto  thee,  by  the  imposition  of 
hands  :  whose  sins  thou  dost  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  ; 
and  whose  sins  thou  dost  retain,  they  are  retained.  Where 
we  may  observe,  that  although  some  other  words  are  in- 
serted to  determine  and  distinguish  the  office  committed 
to  them,  yet  all  the  same  words  are  repeated,  which  our 
Lord  himself  used  at  the  ordination  of  his  Apostles; 
which  the  Catholic   Church  always  judged  necessary, 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF   MINISTERS.  65 

not  only  in  imitation  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  but  like- 
wise, because  that  the  persons  who  are  ordained  priests 
in  his  Church,  are  to  preach  the  same  Word,  administer 
the  same  Sacraments,  and  exercise  the  same  power  in 
the  censures  of  the  Church,  as  the  Apostles  themselves 
did.  And  therefore  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be 
endued  with  the  same  Spirit,  ordained  after  the  same 
manner,  and  entrusted  with  the  same  power  of  the  keys, 
as  the  Apostles  themselves  were.  By  which  means,  the 
means  of  grace  and  salvation  administered  by  priests  thus 
ordained,  become  as  effectual  to  those  that  use  them 
aright,  as  when  they  were  administered  by  the  Apostles 
themselves  ;  the  Spirit,  which  they  receive  by  this  im- 
position of  hands,  being  always  ready  to  assist  at  their 
several  administrations,  and  to  bless  and  sanctify  them  to 
those  who  are  duly  prepared  and  disposed  for  them. 

Now  from  what  we  have  thus  briefly,  as  the  occasion 
would  permit,  discoursed  upon  this  subject,  I  shall  draw 
only  two  inferences ;  whereof  the  first  concerns  those 
who  are  now  to  be  admitted  into  Holy  Orders,  either 
priests  or  deacons.  For  from  what  ye  have  now  heard, 
ye  may  easily  see  the  duty  as  well  as  dignity  of  the 
office  you  are  called  to,  to  be  ministers  of  Christ,  and 
stewards  of  the  manifold  mysteries  of  God.  And  there- 
fore I  hope  you  have  prepared  yourselves,  according  to 
the  directions  that  have  been  given  you,  by  prayer  and 
fasting,  for  so  great  an  undertaking ;  and  so  are  both  duly 
disposed  to  receive  the  power  and  Spirit  that  shall  be 
committed  to  you,  and  also  fully  resolved,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  to  exercise  and  improve  it  for  your  Master's  use. 
For  which  purpose,  as  1  do  not  doubt  but  you  have  seri- 
ously considered  what  questions  will  be  propounded  to 
you,  and  what  answers  ye  must  give  to  them  ;  so  I  must 


66  THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS. 

entreat  you  to  keep  it  always  in  j^our  minds,  how  so- 
lemnly you  this  day  devoted  yourselves  to  the  service  of 
God  and  his  Church,  and  what  vows  and  promises  you 
have  made  in  his  presence,  to  be  diligent  in  praying,  in 
reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  framing  your  lives 
accordingly  ;  in  ministering  the  doctrine,  the  sacraments, 
and  the  discipline  of  Christ,  as  the  Lord  commanded, 
and  as  this  Church  and  realm  hath  received  the  same  ;  to 
drive  away  all  erroneous  and  strange  doctrines,  and  to 
maintain  and  set  forward,  as  much  as  in  you  lies,  quiet- 
ness, love,  and  peace,  among  Christian  people,  and  rever- 
ently to  obey  your  ordinary,  and  those  to  whom  is  com- 
mitted the  charge  and  government  over  you.  If  ye  do 
these  things  according  as  ye  then  promise,  ye  will  save 
both  yourselves  and  them  that  hear  you  ;  but  otherwise, 
after  all  your  preaching  unto  others,  you  yourselves  will 
be  cast-aways. 

The  other  inference  respects  all  here  present :  for 
from  the  premises  duly  weighed,  you  cannot  but  all  infer 
both  the  necessity  and  dignity  of  those  Holy  Orders 
which  are  now  to  be  conferred ;  the  necessity,  in  that  the 
means  of  salvation  cannot  be  administered  effectually 
without  them ;  and  the  dignity,  in  that  they  are  effectu- 
ally administered  by  them.  Upon  which  account,  you 
cannot  but  acknowledge  there  is  a  real  honor  and  res- 
pect due  to  those  who  are  thus  ordained,  though  not  for 
their  own,  yet  for  their  office  sake ;  and  for  his  sake, 
whose  officers  and  ministers  they  are,  in  conveying  the 
greatest  blessings  to  you  that  you  are  or  ever  can  be 
capable  of. 

Wherefore,  as  St.  Paul  said  to  Timothy,  let  no  man  de- 
spise thy  youth,  1  Tim.  iv.  12,  so  say  I  to  you,  do  not  de- 
spise Christ's  clergy  for  their  youth,  or  poverty,  or  upon 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF    MINISTERS.  67 

any  other  account  whatsoever ;  but  esteem  them  as  ye 
ought,  for  his  sake,  whose  clergy  they  are :  and  thank 
God  that  you  have  such  a  clergy  among  you,  as  is  or- 
dained according  to  Christ's  own  institution,  and  endowed 
with  the  same  Spirit  which  he  breathed  into  his  holy 
Apostles,  handed  down  from  them  to  us,  by  a  continued 
and  uninterrupted  succession  ;  which  is  the  great  glory  of 
our  Church,  and  that  which  you  can  never  sufficiently 
thank  God  for  :  as  considering,  that  by  this  means  you 
have  the  Word  and  Sacraments  so  truly  and  powerfully 
administered  among  you,  that  nothing  but  the  extreme 
neglect  of  yourselves  can  hinder  any  of  you  from  being 
happy  for  ever. 

But  that  you  may  all  be  so,  you  must  not  think  it 
enough  that  you  have  such  a  clergy  ordained  among  you, 
nor  that  the  means  of  grace  are  so  duly  and  regularly 
administered  to  you,  but  you  must  exercise  yourselves 
continually  in  them,  otherwise  your  having  of  them  will 
signify  nothing,  unless  it  be  to  sink  you  lower  in  the 
abyss  of  misery.  Neither  must  you  use  only  some,  but 
all  the  means  that  are  appointed  for  the  begetting  or 
increasing  of  true  grace  and  virtue  in  you.  For  if  you 
neglect  any,  you  had  even  as  good  neglect  all ;  one  being 
as  necessary  in  its  kind  as  another,  and  all  assisting  one 
another,  in  -order  to  the  attainment  of  the  end.  And 
after  all,  though  you  use  the  means,  and  all  the  means, 
you  must  use  them  only  as  means  ;  and  therefore  not 
rest  in  them,  nor  trust  on  them,  but  only  upon  him  who 
hath  appointed  them,  and  hath  sent  his  Holy  Spirit  to 
move  in  them,  to  make  them  effectual  to  the  purposes 
for  which  they  are  used. 

Do  but  this,  and  you  will  soon  find,  by  your  own  ex- 
perience, what  infinite  cause  you  have  to  bless  God  for 


68  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

your  living  in  a  Church  where  Holy  Orders  are  confer- 
red, and  by  consequence  the  nr\eans  of  salvation  adminis- 
tered so  exactly,  according  to  the  institution  and  appoint- 
ment of  Christ  our  Saviour :  to  v^honn,  with  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all  honor  and  glory,  now  and 
for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON    III. 


SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY,    UNDER    SUCH 
A    MINISTRY. 


Acts  ii.  47. 

And  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved. 

The  eternal  Son  of  God  having  taken  our  nature  upon 
him,  and  in  it,  by  his  one  oblation  of  himself  once  offered^ 
made  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and 
satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  w^iole  world  ;  he  is  now 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  unto  God  by 
him  f'Heb.  vii.  25).  But  forasmuch  as  he  took  not  on  him 
the  nature  of  angels-^  but  the  seed  of  Abraham  (chap  ii.  16), 
the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their  own 
habitation,  are  all  still  reserved  in  everlasting  chains,  under 
darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  (Jude,  ver. 
6).  And  as  for  those  who  partake  of  that  nature,  which 
he  assumed,  and  in  which  he  suifered,  and  so  are  capable 


UNDER    SUCH   A   MINISTRY.  69 

of  pardon  and  salvation  by  him,  it  is  much  to  be  feared, 
that  a  great,  if  not  the  greatest,  part  of  them  also,  will, 
notwithstanding  what  he  hath  done  and  suffered  for  them, 
perish  everlastingly  :  not  by  reason  of  any  defect  or  in- 
sufficiency in  his  merits  and  power  to  save  them,  but  by 
reason  of  their  own  obstinacy  or  negligence,  in  not  per- 
forming those  easy  conditions  which  he  requires  of  them, 
in  order  to  their  being  actually  vested  in  that  salvation 
which  he  hath  purchased  for  them.  But  whosoever, 
among  the  sons  of  men,  will  come  up  to  his  most  gra- 
cious terms,  and  submit  themselves  wholly  to  be  govern- 
ed and  saved  by  him,  he  will  take  care  that  they  shall 
be  certainly  saved,  and  advanced  to  eternal  glory  in  hea- 
ven. And  for  that  purpose  he  always  so  orders  it  in  his 
providence,  that  ail  such  are  first  admitted  into,  and  made 
members  of,  that  Church,  which  he  hath  established  on 
earth;  as  the  Holy  Ghost  here  witnesseth,  saying.  And 
the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as  should  be 
saved. 

For  the  better  understanding  of  which  words,  we  shall 
briefly  consider, 

First,  What  is  here  meant  by  the  Church. 

Secondly,  Who  by  such  as  should  be  saved. 

Thirdly,  What  by  the  Lord's  adding  to  the  Church 
daily  such  as  should  be  saved. 

As  for  the  first,  we  must  remember,  that  when  our 
Lord  was  upon  earth,  he  said  he  would  build  himself  a 
Church,  and  that  upon  such  a  rock,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
should  not  prevail  against  it  (Matt.  xvi.  18).  In  order 
whereunto,  he  first  chose  twelve  persons,  called  his 
Apostles,  to  whom  he  revealed  the  design  he  came  into 
the  world  about,  and  the  great  mysteries  of  the  Gospel ; 
and  then  sent  them  out  to  acquaint  others  with  what  he 
A* 


had  taught  them,  and  to  work  miracles  for  the  confirma- 
tion of  it ;  and  to  admit  all  as  would  receive  it  into  their 
society,  by  baptizing  of  them.  By  which  means  he  soon 
had  a  considerable  number  of  disciples  ;  out  of  which  he 
selected  seventy  others,  to  whom  he  gave  power  also  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  and  to  work  miracles j  Luke  x.  1.  And 
having  thus  laid  the  foundation,  he  soon  after  purchased 
to  himself  an  universal  Church,  with  his  own  most  pre- 
cious blood  And  rising  again  the  third  day,  he  presently 
took  care  to  settle  the  perpetual  government  of  it,  by 
granting  to  his  Apostles  the  like  power  and  commission, 
which  he  had  received  from  his  Father  for  that,  purpose. 
And  then  he  gave  them  orders  to  go  and  preach  the  Gos^ 
pel  to  all  nations^  and  make  them  his  disciples,  by  baptiz- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father^  and  of  the  Son^  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost^  and  to  teach  them  all  things  that  he 
had  commanded  them ;  assuring  them  withal,  that  he 
himself,  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  would  he  with  them,  and  their 
successors,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 
Our  Lord  having  thus  done  all  things  which  were  ne- 
cessary for  the  establishment  of  his  Church  upon  earth, 
he  ascended  up  into  heaven,  there  also  to  take  the  su- 
preme care  of  it.  And  ten  days  after,  upon  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  he,  according  to  his  promise,  sent  down  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  a  miraculous  manner  upon  his  Apostles, 
to  assist  them  in  speaking  the  languages  of  all  nations, 
in  order  to  their  conversion,  and  to  set  home  what  they 
preached  upon  the  hearts  of  those  who  heard  it :  which 
wrought  so  effectually  with  them,  that  by  one  short  ser- 
mon preached  the  same  day  by  St.  Peter,  about  three 
thousand  souls  received  the  word  gladly,  and  were  baptized. 
Acts  ii.  41.  And  from  that  day  forward,  many  others  did 
80  J  who  therefore  in  my  text  are  said  to  be  added  to  the 


UNDER   SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  71 

Churchy  that  is,  to  the  society  or  congregation  of  the 
faithful  before  described ;  consisting  of  the  Apostles,  as 
the  governors  of  it,  and  of  such  as  were  joined  to  them, 
and  held  communion  with  them  in  the  Word  and  Sacra- 
ments, which  our  Lord  had  instituted. 

And  when  the  said  society  was  dispersed,  as  it  soon 
was,  over  the  whole  world,  it  was  still  the  same,  and  re- 
tained the  same  name,  being  still  called  the  Church. 
And  not  only  the  whole,  but  wheresoever  any  part  of  it 
was  settled  in  any  city,  and  the  territories  belonging  to 
it,  that  also  was  called  the  Church  of  that  city  ;  as  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem,  the  Church  of  Corinth,  &c.  And 
wheresoever  there  were  several  such  cities  and  Churches 
in  them  belonging  to  any  province  or  country,  they  are 
called  the  Churches  of  that  country  ;  as  the  Churches 
of  Asia,  Macedonia,  &c.  But  as  every  private  Christian 
is  a  member  of  some  particular  Church,  so  is  every  par- 
ticular Church  a  member  of  the  catholic  or  universal, 
which  is  always  meant,  when  we  read  in  Scripture  of 
the  Church  in  general,  without  the  addition  of  place  or 
country.  And  where  it  is  said,  that  Christ  also  loved  the 
Churchy  Eph.  v.  25.  and  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church, 
ver.  23,  so  here,  and  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily 
such  as  should  be  saved,  abi'C,ouevovg^  or  such  as  are  saved, 
as  the  word  may  be  rendered  ;  but  the  sense  is  much  the 
same ;  for  our  salvation  plainly  begins  in  this  life,  al- 
though it  be  perfected  only  in  the  other.  It  commenceth 
from  our  repentance  and  conversion  ;  from  our  being 
saved  from  our  sins,  or  from  this  untoward  generation. 
Acts  ii.  40,  as  the  Apostle  in  this  chapter  words  it.  And 
they,  and  only  they,  who  are  thus  saved  from  their  sins 
upon  earth,  can  ever  attain  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls 
in  heaven.     By  such  therefore  as  are  or  should  be  saved^ 


72  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

we  are  to  understand  such  as  being  pricked  in  their 
hearts,  and  convinced  of  their  former  errors  in  opinion 
and  practice,  do  heartily  repent  them,  and  gladly  receive 
the  word,  and  embrace  the  terms  propounded  in  the  Gos- 
pel, for  the  pardon  of  their  sins,  and  for  the  assistance  of 
God's  grace  and  Spirit,  that  they  may  so  serve  him  here, 
as  to  enjoy  him  for  ever.  Such  as  these,  which  shall 
certainly  be  saved,  the  Lord  daily  added  to  the  Church. 

What  we  are  to  understand  by  that  phrase,  even  the 
Lord's  adding  them  to  the  Churchy  may  be  easily  and 
clearly  gathered  from  the  context :  for  these  doubtless 
were  added  to  the  Church  after  the  same  manner  as  the 
3000  were  upon  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Now  of  those 
it  is  here  said,  that  they  were  baptized.  Acts  ii.  41,  which 
was  the  way  that  our  Lord  had  instituted  for  the  admis- 
siorr  of  any  into  his  Church.  And  then  it  follows  in  the 
next  verse,  that  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  Apostles^ 
doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in 
prayers,  Acts  ii.  42,  that  is,  they  constantly  professed  to 
believe  the  doctrine  delivered  by  the  Apostles  ;  they  held 
constant  communion  or  fellowship  with  them,  as  became 
members  of  that  society,  whereof  the  Apostles  and  their 
successors  were  deputed  governors  by  Christ  himself; 
they  frequented  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  the  public  prayers  of  the  Church.  By  which  means 
they  were  so  added  to  the  Church,  as  to  continue  in  it, 
and  neglect  no  duty  which  was  enjoined  or  performed  by 
it.  And  thus  questionless  it  was,  that  the  Lord  after- 
wards also  added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as  should  be 
saved. 

A  thing  much  to  be  observed  ;  especially  when  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  so  slighted  and  undervalued,  as  it  is 
in  our  days :  for  it  is  plain  from  these  words,  that  our 


UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  73 

Lord  did  not  only  thus  add  to  his  Church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved;  but  he  hath  left  it  upon  record,  that  all 
generations  might  know  that  he  did  so,  and,  by  conse- 
quence, that  all  which  shall  be  saved,  must  be  added  to 
the  Church  as  they  were.  Forasmuch  as  this  being  the 
way  and  method  that  he  hath  settled  in  the  world  for  the 
saving  of  souls,  or  for  the  applying  that  salvation  to 
them,  which  he  hath  purchased  for  them  ;  we  have  no 
ground  to  expect  that  he  should  ever  recede  from  it,  es- 
pecially considering  how  strictly  he  himself  hath  observ- 
ed it,  even  to  a  miracle  ;  as  might  easily  be  shown  from 
several  instances  in  the  holy  Scripture.  I  shall  mention 
only  three,  which  are  very  remarkable. 

The  first  shall  be  that  of  Cornelius  the  centurion, 
whose  prayers  and  alms  being  gone  up  for  a  memorial 
before  God,  God  was  pleased  to  send  down  an  angel  to 
him.  What  to  do  }  To  reveal  the  mysteries  of  the 
Gospel  to  him  ?  To  tell  him  what  he  must  believe  and 
do,  that  he  might  be  saved  ?  No  ;  his  commission  was 
only  to  direct  Cornelius  to  send  for  Peter  the  Apostle  of 
Christ,  who  should  tell  him  what  he  ought  to  do.  Acts  x. 
6.  And  at  the  same  time  that  he  sent  for  him,  Peter  had 
a  vision  from  heaven,  whereby  he  was  fully  assured,  that 
he  ought  to  receive  the  said  Cornelius  into  the  Church  ; 
and  therefore  he  accordingly  did  so.  From  whence  we 
may  observe,  what  care  our  Lord  took,  what  supernatu- 
ral means  he  used,  to  bring  Cornelius  into  his  Church,  in 
order  to  his  saving  of  him. 

The  next  instance  shall  be  that  of  the  eunuch,  trea- 
surer to  Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  who  having 
been  at  Jerusalem  to  worship  God,  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
spake  to  Philip  to  go  to  such  a  place.  Acts  viii.  26. 
When  he  came  there,  he  saw  the  eunuch  sitting  in  a 


^4 

chariot,  and  the  Spirit  bade  him  to  go  near  to  that  chariot ; 
•which  when  he  had  done,  he  heard  the  eunuch  read  the 
prophet  Isaiah.  From  whence  Philip  took  occasion  to 
expound  the  whole  Gospel  to  him ;  insomuch  that,  be- 
fore they  parted,  he  was  baptized,  ver.  38,  and  so  added 
to  the  Church.  At  the  same  time  that  the  Lord  sent  his 
angel  to  order  Philip  to  go  and  meet  the  eunuch,  he 
could  have  sent  him  directly  to  the  eunuch  himself. 
And  when  the  Spirit  spake  to  Philip,  to  join  himself  to 
the  chariot  where  the  eunuch  was,  he  could,  if  he  had 
pleased,  have  spoken  to  the  eunuch  himself,  and  have 
caused  him  to  understand  the  Scriptures  without  the  as- 
sistance of  any  man.  But  it  seems  that  our  Lord  having 
now  established  his  Church  upon  earth,  as  he  would  not 
send  his  angel  to  do  it,  so  neither  would  the  Spirit  him- 
self undertake  to  direct  the  eunuch  how  he  might  be 
saved  loithout  the  Church  ;  but  only  to  bring  him  into  the 
Churchy  that  so  he  might  be  saved. 

But  that  which  is  most  of  all  to  be  observed  in  this 
case,  is  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul ;  to  whom  our  Lord 
himself  was  pleased  to  appear  in  a  miraculous  manner, 
and  to  converse  familiarly  with  him  :  and  yet  he  himself 
would  not  m.ake  known  any  part  of  the  Gospel  to  him  ; 
no,  not  so  much  as  that  he  was  the  Christ,  but  only  that 
he  was  Jesus  whom  he  persecuted.  Yea,  although  Saul 
asked  him  particularly,  what  he  would  have  him  to  do, 
yet  our  Lord  would  not  tell  him  himself,  but  sends  him 
to  the  Church  to  know  it ;  Arise^  saith  he,  go  into  the 
city.,  and  it  shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  must  do.,  Acts  ix. 
6.  And  then  he  appeared  miraculously  to  Ananias,  one 
of  his  disciples  in  that  city,  and  ordered  him  to  go  to 
Saul,  and  acquaint  him  with  what  he  must  do.  By 
which  means  he,  being  fully  instructed  in  the  Gospel, 


UNDER    SUCH    A   MINISTRY.  75 

was  baptized^  and  so  brought  him  into  the  Church-  From 
all  which  it  is  plain  and  evident,  that  our-  Lord  is  so  re- 
solved to  add  those  who  shall  be  saved  to  his  Churchy  that 
he  would  rather  work  miracles  to  bring  men  into  it,  than 
save  any  without  it. 

Seeing  therefore  that  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  so  positively 
affirmed,  that  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  such  as 
should  be  saved,  and  likewise  hath  given  us  such  extra- 
ordinary instances  of  it ;  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Fathers  so 
frequently  assert,  that  there  is  no  salvation  to  be  had  out 
of  Christ's  holy  catholic  Church  ;  but  that  whosoever 
would  be  a  member  of  the  Church  triumphant  in  heaven, 
must  first  be  a  member  of  the  Church  here  militant  on 
earth.  Cyprian,  ep.  62.  ad  Pompon,  ep.  73.  ad  Jubajan. 
Ambros.  in  Psal.  xl.  Augiistin.  ep.  ad  Dona,  post  colL 
de  sijmb.  ad  catech.  lib.  iv.  c.  10. 

Now  that  which  I  principally  design,  in  discoursing 
upon  this  subject,  is,  to  inquire  into  the  reasons  of  it : 
not  that  I  think  it  necessary  or  possible  for  us  fully  to 
understand  that  infinite  reason  which  our  Lord  hath  for 
all  his  actions,  and  in  a  particular  manner  for  this.  It  is 
sufficient  for  us  that  we  know,  that  he  is  both  able  and 
willing  to  save  us,  and  that  this  is  the  way  wherein  he  is 
pleased  to  do  it.  And  therefore  we,  who  can  never  be 
saved  any  other  way  but  by  him,  are  obliged  by  our  own 
interest  to  submit  to  it,  whether  we  apprehend  any  rea- 
son for  it  or  no.  Howsoever,  seeing  it  is  a  matter 
wherein  the  glory  of  his  name,  the  honor  of  his  Church, 
and  the  welfare  of  our  own  souls,  is  so  highly  concerned, 
by  his  leave  and  assistance,  which  I  humbly  beg  his  Di- 
vine Majesty  to  vouchsafe  unto  me,  I  shall  present  you 
with  some  such  considerations,  from  whence  ye  may 


7©  SALVATION    IN   THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

conclude  it  to  be  both  reasonable  and  necessary,  that 
they  who  shall  he  saved,  should  be  added  to  the  Church. 
For,  first,  it  is  acknowledged  by  all  Christians,  that  in 
order  to  our  being  saved  by  Christ,  it  is  necessary  that 
we  know  and  believe  his  Gospel,  and  the  fundamental 
truths  revealed  in  it.  And  therefore  as  God  would  have 
all  men  to  be  saved,  so  for  that  purpose  he  would  have 
them  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  1  Tim.  ii.  4. 
But  it  is  as  plain  also,  that,  as  things  now  stand,  w^e  can- 
not come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  but  only  by  the 
Church,  which  is  the  witness  and  keeper  of  holy  writ, 
and  so,  as  the  Apostle  saith,  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
truth,  1  Tim.  iii.  15,  by  which  the  truth  is  upheld  and 
maintained  in  the  world,  the  Gospel  preserved  and  propa- 
gated, and  so  true  religion,  and  the  way  of  salvation  by 
Christ,  is  divulged  and  made  known  to  mankind.  Inso- 
much, that  although  I  do  not  doubt,  but  that  whilst  the 
Church  was  confined  to  one  family,  God,  the  Creator 
and  Preserver  of  all  mankind,  did  manifest  in  an  extra- 
ordinary manner,  to  some  that  were  not  of  that  Church : 
yet  now  that  the  partition-wall  is  broken  down,  and  the 
Church  dispersed  over  the  whole  world  ;  now,  I  say,  we 
have  no  ground  to  expect  any  such  extraordinary  revela- 
tions ;  but  they  that  would  know  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ  whom  he  hath  sent,  must  go  to  the  Church  for 
it ;  where  they  may  read  the  Scriptures,  and  have  them 
truly  interpreted  to  them,  and  so  fully  understand  what 
God  would  have  them  to  believe  concerning  himself  and 
his  son.  For  what  greater  revelations  can  be  expected, 
than  either  by  an  angel,  or  by  the  Spirit,  or  else  by  our 
blessed  Saviour  ^  Yet,  in  the  instances  before  mention- 
ed, we  see  that  the  anger  would  not  instruct  Cornelius, 
the  Spirit  would  not  instruct  the  eunuch,  our  Lord  him- 


UNDER    SUCH    A   MINISTRY.  77 

self  would  not  instruct  Saul,  in  the  articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  ;  but  they  all  sent  them,  every  one  his  man,  to 
the  Churchy  to  be  instructed  by  her.  Wherefore  seeing 
we  cannot  be  saved  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Gos- 
pel, or  know  the  Gospel,  but  by  the  Church  ;  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daihj  such  as 
should  be  saved. 

Moreover,  as  we  cannot  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
God's  word  but  by  his  Church,  so  neither  can  we  rightly 
believe  what  is  there  revealed,  nor  duly  perform  what  is 
there  commanded,  without  the  assistance  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit,  which  is  given  by  the  ministry  of  the  Church, 
and  shall  abide  with  it  for  ever,  as  our  Lord  hath  promised. 
For  the  promise  being  made  only  to  Christ's  disciples, 
John  xix.  26,  and  so  to  his  Church,  none  but  such  as  are 
of  that  society  can  receive  any  benefit  by  it.  And  there- 
fore when  they  who  heard  St.  Peter's  sermon  were  soli- 
citous to  know  what  to  do,  the  Apostle  said  to  them, 
Repent,  and  be  bajytized,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for 
the  remission  of  sins,  and  you  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  Acts  ii.  38.  Plainly  implying,  that  they 
must  first  be  baptized,  and  so  received  into  the  Church, 
before  the  Holy  Ghost  would  come  upon  them.  There 
are  many  such  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  which 
clearly  show  that  they  only  which  are  of  the  Church  can 
partake  of  the  Spirit  which  is  in  it ;  that  they  only  who 
are  members  of  that  body,  whereof  Christ  is  head,  can 
be  influenced  and  assisted  by  that  blessed  Spirit  which 
flows  from  him.  And  this  certainly  is  one  great  reason 
why  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  such  as  should  be 
saved. 

But  that  which  I  intend,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  to 
insist  chiefly  upon,  is  taken  from  the  method  and  means 


78  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

of  salvation,  which  are  used  in  the  Church,  and  nowhere 
else,  as  they  ought  to  be.  I  know  it  is  by  Christ  only 
that  we  can  attain  to  salvation,  and  that  it  is  by  the 
Spirit  only  that  we  can  be  fitted  and  qualified  for  it.  But 
howsoever  we  must  not,  we  cannot  expect  that  he  should 
act  upon  us  immediately  from  himself,  without  the  use  of 
those  means  which  he  himself  hath  prescribed  for  that 
end  ;  for  he  would  never  have  prescribed  them,  but  that 
he  designed  to  act  by  them.  I  know  also  that  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  Word  and  Sacraments,  and  all  the  means  of 
grace  which  he  hath  ordained,  are  not  to  be  ascribed  to 
themselves,  but  only  to  his  Spirit  moving  in  them,  and 
working  together  with  them.  But  howsoever,  in  that  he 
makes  use  of  those  means  in  his  working  upon  us,  it  is 
necessary  that  we  also  make  use  of  them,  if  we  desire 
to  be  wrought  upon  by  him  :  and  by  consequence,  that 
we  be  added  to  and  continue  in  the  Churchy  if  we  would 
he  saved  ;  forasmuch,  as  it  is  there  only  that  we  can  en- 
joy those  means,  which  our  Saviour  hath  appointed  in 
order  thereunto. 

To  prove  this,  we  need  only  consider  the  means  which 
Christ's  holy  Catholic  Church  hath  prescribed  out  of  his 
word,  and  the  excellent  course  she  takes  to  train  up  her 
children  for  heaven,  and  fit  them  to  converse  with  the 
holy  angels,  and  with  Christ  himself  in  the  other  world  : 
for  he  that  duly  considers  this,  will  soon  acknowledge, 
that  the  like  is  nowhere  else  to  be  found,  but  only  in  the 
Church. 

But  how  shall  we  know  what  the  catholic  Church  hath 
always  done  in  this  case  ?  Must  we  read  over  the 
Councils,  consult  the  Fathers,  and  search  the  records 
of  the  Church  in  all  ages  ?  No  ;  we  need  not  give  our- 
selves that  trouble  :  for  whatsoever  means  of  grace  and 


UNDER   SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  79 

salvation  have  been  used  by  the  catholic  Church  in  all 
ages,  the  same,  and  none  else,  are  to  this  day  used  by  our 
own.  Insomuch  that  if  we  do  bat  cast  our  eye  upon 
the  Church  we  live  in,  we  may  in  that,  as  in  a  mirror, 
behold  the  constant  practice  of  the  universal  Church,  in 
all  things  necessary  to  men's  salvation. 

This  therefore  is  that  which  I  shall  now  do,  even 
briefly  survey  the  constitution  of  our  Church,  and  con- 
sider the  excellent  method  observed  in  it  for  the  bringing 
of  souls  to  heaven.  In  order  whereunto,  I  must  first 
premise  one  thing  in  general  ;  which  is,  that  the  bishops 
and  pastors  of  our  Church  having,  by  successive  imposi- 
tion of  hands,  continued  all  along  from  the  Apostles,  re- 
ceived the  same  Spirit  which  was  breathed  into  them  ; 
and  so  regularly  succeeding  the  Apostles,  and  supplying 
now  their  places  in  this  part  of  the  world,  hence  they 
cannot  but  have  the  same  power  and  authority  which  the 
Apostles  had,  to  confer,  by  the  laying  on  of  their  hands, 
as  they  did,  both  the  Spirit  which  they  themselves  re- 
ceived, and  so  their  whole  office,  upon  other  bishops  ; 
and  likewise  so  much  of  it  as  is  necessary  for  the  right 
administration  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments  to  other  in- 
ferior officers  in  the  Church,  which  we  call  priests  and 
deacons  :  of  which  there  are  so  many  ordained  every 
year  by  the  imposition  of  their  hands,  that  our  whole 
Church  is  sufficiently  supplied  with  them.  So  that 
there  is  no  parish,  or  particular  congregation  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  whole  kingdom,  but  hath,  or  may  have,  a 
priest  thus  ordained,  and  so  rightly  qualified  for  the 
eflectual  administration  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments, 
and  other  means  of  grace  and  salvation  among  them  : 
the  Spirit  which  they  have  received  being  always  ready, 
at  the  execution  of  their  several  offices,  to  bless  and 


80  SALVATION    IN   THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

sanctify  what  is  done  by  them,  to  the  sanctification  and 
salvation  of  those  who  attend  upon  it,  and  prepare  them-- 
selves  for  it  as  they  ought. 

But,  seeing  the  means  of  grace,  thus  administered  by 
them,  become  effectual  to  the  purposes  for  which  they 
are  used,  only  by  this,  viz.  the  co-operation  of  Christ's 
Spirit  with  them  ;  hence  all  that  desire  or  expect  any 
real  benefit  from  them,  must  look  higher  than  the  means 
themselves,  trusting  upon  God  for  his  blessing  upon  them, 
and  for  the  assistance  of  his  Spirit  in  them,  according  to 
the  promises  which  he  hath  made  to  that  purpose  ; 
without  which,  we  have  no  ground  to  expect  they 
should  be  performed  to  us. 

This  being  premised  concerning  the  means  of  grace  in 
general,  we  shall  now  consider  them  particularly,  in  the 
same  method  wherein  the  catholic,  or,  which  is  all  one, 
our  Church  appoints  them  to  be  used  :  by  which  we 
shall  clearly  see,  what  an  excellent  course  she  takes  to 
bring  up  her  children  in  the  true  faith  and  fear  of  God, 
and  so  to  make  them  heirs  to  the  crown  of  glory.  For 
which  purpose  it  is  necessary  that  we  begin  at  the  first 
admission  of  them  into  her  communion  by  baptism. 
Concerning  which  we  may  observe,  that  the  errors  and 
iniquities  of  the  times  and  place  we  live  in  are  such,  that 
there  are  many  heathens  amongst  us,  persons  of  riper 
years,  and  yet  not  baptized :  for  whose  sakes,  therefore, 
our  Church,  to  show  her  readiness  to  receive  them,  upon 
their  repentance  and  conversion,  hath  appointed  an  office 
for  baptizing  of  them  :  for  which  there  was  no  occasion 
in  this  nation,  for  many  ages,  until  now.  But  although 
there  be  many  such  persons  now  among  us  absolutely 
considered,  yet  they  are  but  very  few,  in  comparison  of 
those  who  are  baptized  in  their  infancy :  and  therefore  I 


UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  81 

shall  begin  with  those,  and  concern  myself  no  further  at 
present  with  the  other. 

A  child,  therefore,  being  born  of  Christian  parents,  and 
by  them  offered  to  the  Church  to  be  received  into  her  so- 
ciety, the  Church,  in  obedience  to  Christ's  command, 
according  to  the  practice  of  the  universal  Church,  ex- 
presseth  her  wiUingness  to  receive  it.  But  withal,  con- 
sidering the  frailty  and  mortality  of  the  parents,  she 
require th  some  other  persons,  called  godfathers  and  god- 
mothers, to  be  specially  present  at  it,  as  witnesses, 
proxies,  and  sureties.  As  witnesses,  to  attest  upon  occa- 
sion, that  this  child  M'^as  baptized  :  as  proxies  for  the 
child,  by  whom  he  may  promise  (or  they  in  his  name) 
that  he  will  perform  the  conditions  of  the  covenant 
which  he  is  now  admitted  into  :  and,  lastly,  as  sureties 
to  the  Church,  that  this  child  shall  be  brought  up  in  the 
Christian  religion.  So  great  care  doth  our  Church  take, 
that  all  who  are  admitted  into  her  society,  may  believe 
and  live  as  becometh  Christians. 

By  these,  therefore,  the  child  being  brought  to  the 
Church,  it  is  there  presented  to  the  Lord  (as  Christ  was 
in  the  temple),  whose  minister  finding  it  there,  and  un- 
derstanding that  it  hath  not  been  baptized,  puts  the  peo- 
ple in  mind  of  the  necessity  of  baptism,  and  exhorts  them 
to  pray  that  this  child  may  have  it  administered  effectu- 
ally to  him.  Upon  which,  the  whole  congregation  there 
present  join  with  him  in  supplicating  the  Most  High  God, 
that  he  would  wash  and  sanctify  this  child,  so  that  it  may 
be  saved.  Then  the  minister  reads  to  them  part  of  the 
Gospel  concerning  the  children  that  were  brought  to 
Christ,  draws  some  plain  and  proper  inferences  from  it, 
and  gives  God  thanks  for  the  same.  After  that,  he 
addresseth  himself  to  the  sureties,  and  acquaints  them. 


82  SALVATION    IN   THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

that  as  Christ  hath  promised  to  hear  their  prayers  for  this 
child,  which  they  have  now  brought  to  him  ;  so  th6 
child  must  for  his  part  promise,  by  them  his  sureties, 
that  he  will  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works,  con- 
stantly believe  God's  holy  word,  and  obediently  keep  his 
commandments.  Which  being  accordingly  done,  by 
questions  propounded  by  the  minister  in  the  name  of  the 
Church,  and  answered  by  the  sureties  in  the  name  of 
the  child  ;  the  minister  prayeth,  that  the  child  may  have 
grace  to  perform  what  he  hath  now  promised.  And  then 
having  asked  by  what  name  they  would  have  the  child 
called,  he  poureth  water  upon  it,  and,  calling  it  by  that 
name,  he  saith,  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Which  being 
the  very  words  wherewith  our  Lord  commanded  this 
sacrament  should  be  administered,  the  child  is  now  fully 
and  perfectly  baptized.  And  to  testify  her  acknowledg- 
ment that  it  is  so,  the  Church  immediately  receiveth  it 
into  her  communion,  and  solemnly  declareth  it  to  be  now 
a  Christian,  not  only  by  words,  but  also  by  making  a 
cross  upon  the  child's  forehead,  the  common  sign  where- 
by Christians  were  always  distinguished  from  Jews  and 
Heathens :  the  minister  saying,  in  the  name  of  the 
Church,  We  receive  this  child  into  the  congregation  of 
Chrisfs  flock,  and  do  sign  it  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  &c. 
After  which  the  minister  stirs  up  the  people  there  present 
to  give  God  thanks  for  this  favor,  and  to  pray  unto  him 
that  this  child  may  lead  the  rest  of  his  life  according  to 
this  beginning.  Which  done,  he  puts  the  sureties  in 
mind  of  their  duty,  now  incumbent  upon  them,  to  see 
that  the  child  be  taught,  so  soon  as  he  shall  be  able  to 
learn,  what  a  solemn  vow,  promise,  and  profession  he 
hath  made  by  them,  and  all  other  things  which  a  Chris- 


UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  83 

tian  ought  to  know  and  believe  to  his  soul's  health  ;  and 
then  to  bring  it  to  the  bishop  to  be  confirmed  by  him. 

This  is,  in  short,  the  substance  of  that  excellent 
Office,  which  our  Church  hath  appointed  for  the  public 
baptism  of  infants.  But  in  case  of  extreme  necessity, 
lest  the  child  should  die  without  it,  she  admitteth  of  pri- 
vate baptism,  and  absolutely  pequireth  no  more  in  the 
administration  of  it,  than  what  is  essential  to  it,  even 
that  the  child  be  baptized  with  water,  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  if 
it  lives,  she  requireth  that  it  be  afterwards  brought  to  the 
church,  and  that  whatsoever  was  before  omitted  of  the 
public  Office,  be  there  performed  to  it. 

Now  the  Church  having  thus  gotten  a  new  member 
added  to  her,  and  taken  security  for  its  education  in  the 
faith  of  Christ ;  for  the  better  performance  of  it,  she  hath 
drawn  up  a  short  Catechism  for  the  child  to  learn  (when 
he  is  able),  consisting  of  all  things  necessary  for  it  to 
know,  and  nothing  else.  And  that  she  may  be  certified 
whether  the  child  hath  learnt  it  or  no,  and  likewise  con- 
tribute what  she  can  towards  his  understanding  all  and 
everything  contained  in  the  said  Catechism,  she  com- 
mands that  the  minister  of  the  parish  where  he  lives  do 
frequently  and  openly  in  the  church  examine  and  instruct 
him  in  it. 

By  this  means,  therefore,  this  new  Christian,  now  come 
to  years  of  discretion,  understanding  what  his  sureties 
promised  in  his  name  when  he  was  baptized,  is  by  them, 
or  some  other,  brought  to  the  bishop,  to  be  confirmed  by 
him.  In  order  whereunto,  he,  in  the  presence  of  God 
and  of  the  congregation  there  assembled,  renews  the 
solemn  promise  and  vow  which  was  then  made  in  his 
name,  ratifying  and  confirming  the  same  in  his  own  per- 


84  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

son,  and  acknowledging  himself  bound  to  believe  and 
do  all  those  things  which  his  godfathers  and  godmothers 
then  undertook  for  him.  And  that  he  may  be  enabled  so 
to  do,  the  bishop,  with  the  whole  congregation  there  pre- 
sent, jointly  pray  to  God  to  assist  and  strengthen  him 
with  his  grace  and  Spirit.  And  then  the  bishop,  after 
the  example  of  the  holy  Apostles,  lays  his  hand  upon 
the  child's  head,  and  prays  to  God  for  him,  saying,  De- 
fend., O  Lord,  this  thy  child  with  thy  heavenly  grace,  &c. 
After  w^iich  the  whole  congregation  join  again  with  the 
bishop  in  some  other  prayers  to  the  same  purpose.  All 
which  being  duly  performed  as  it  ought,  cannot  certainly 
but  be  very  effectual  to  the  great  ends  and  purposes  for 
which  it  is  used  ;  as  Christians  in  all  ages  have  found  by 
their  own  experience. 

Our  Christian  being  thus  confirmed,  he  is  now  looked 
upon  in  the  «ye  of  the  Church  as  no  longer  a  minor,  but 
of  full  age  to  receive  and  enjoy  all  the  blessings  and  pri- 
vileges which  his  heavenly  Father  in  the  holy  Gospel 
hath  settled  upon  him.  And  therefore  his  spiritual 
guardians,  the  godfathers  and  godmothers,  being  discharg- 
ed, he  is  now  to  stand  upon  his  own  legs  :  and  well  he 
may,  having  so  indulgent,  pious,  and  wise  a  mother  upon 
earth,  as  the  Church  is,  to  take  care  of  him.  For  if  he 
be  but  dutiful  and  obedient  to  her,  and  follow  those  good 
directions  which  she  gives  him,  there  is  no  fear  of  falling. 
For  she  considers  what  potent  enemies  he  ^s  to  fight 
with  ;  that  the  flesh,  the  world,  and  the  devil,  which  he 
renounced,  will  all  strive  to  recover  their  possession  of 
him  ;  and  therefore  she,  out  of  God's  word,  furnisheth 
him  with  such  spiritual  armor,  that  if  he  be  not  failing 
to  himself  in  the  use  of  it,  he  may  not  only  withstand, 
but  conquer  them  all.     She  considers  every  distemper  he 


UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  85 

can  be^subject  to,  and  finding  suitable  remedies  prescrib- 
ed for  it  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  she  directs  him  how  to 
apply  them,  so  as  to  prevent  or  cure  it.  In  short,  she 
considers  the  great  work  he  has  to  do,  no  less  than  to 
work  out  his  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling ^^hat  he  can 
never  do  it  without  the  assistance  of  God's  Spirit,  and 
that  he  hath  no  ground  to  expect  any  such  assistance,  but 
in  the  use  of  those  means  which  God  hath  appointed 
for  that  end  ;  hence  she  often  calls  upon  him  to  use  those 
means,  instructs  him  how  to  do  it  aright,  assists  him  in 
it,  and  so  keeps  him  in  continual  exercise  and  employ- 
ment about  the  work  he  hath  to  do,  that  he  may  be 
saved. 

For  in  the  first  place,  considering  that  in  order  to  the 
preventing  those  many  sins  which  are  occasioned  by  the 
prevaihng  humors  of  the  body,  and  also  to  the  preserv- 
ing his  mind  in  a  fit  temper,  both  to  perform  his  duties 
unto  God,  and  to  receive  divine  illuminations  and  assist- 
ances from  him,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  his  body  always 
under  ;  and  considering  likewise,  that  God  himself  hath 
for  that  very  purpose  commanded  not  only  temperance  at 
all  times,  but  at  some  times  abstinence  and  fasting  ;  hence 
the  Church  hath  set  apart  some  certain  days  every  year, 
whereon  her  son,  we  now  speak  of,  should  by  fasting 
bring  his  body  into  a  constant  subjection  to  his  soul ; 
lest  otherwise,  if  there  were  no  set  times  appointed  for 
it,  he  should  be,  as  most  are,  too  apt  to  neglect  it,  and 
never  fast  .at  all,  or  at  most,  but  very  seldom,  and  so  to 
no  purpose. 

Now  the  days  which  she  directs  him  to  spend  in  fast- 
ing are  the  forty  days  of  Lent,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  every  year  before  Easter ;  and 
the   three  Rogation-days  immediately  preceding  Holy- 
5  • 


86  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLYj 

Thursday.     Besides  which,  she  appoints  three  days,  viz. 
Wednesday,  Friday  and   Saturday,    in  each  of  the  four 
Ember-weeks,  whereon  to  fast,  not  only  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid,  but  likewise  that  he  may  the  more  effectually 
implore  a  blessing  both  upon  the  bishops  who  are  to  or- 
dain, and  upon  those  who  shall  be  ordained  to  any  holy 
function  the  Sunday  following  ;  which  if  he  neglect  to 
do,  he  must   blame  himself,  if  any  unworthy  persons  be 
then   admitted   into  the  sacred  ministry  of  the  Church. 
Whereas,  if  he  perform  his  duty  aright  at  that  time,  he 
may  upon  good  grounds  expect  a  greater  blessing  from 
the  Word  and  Sacraments  administered  by  those  who  are 
then   ordained.     Be  sure   his  prayers   will,   one  time  or 
other,   return    into   his    own   bosom  :   and   therefore,  I 
heartily  wish,  that  all  the  devout  and  pious  souls  in  the 
Church  would,  after  the  example  of  Christ  and  his  Apos- 
tles,   join   together  in    fasting   and   praying,     upon   so 
solemn  occasions  as  those  are.     What  a  glorious  Church, 
what  an  excellent  clergy,  should  we  then  have  !     But  to 
return  to  our  Christian  :  the  Lent-fast  coming  but  once 
a  year,  and  the  Ember-weeks  but  once  a  quarter,  for  fear 
lest  his  body  should  in  the  mean  time  grow  rampant,  or 
his  passions   headstrong  and  unruly,  the  Church  orders 
him  to  fast  one  day  in  every  week,  viz.  Friday,  the  day 
whereon  our  Lord  was   crucified  ;  as  also,  the  eves  or 
vigils  of  some  certain  holy-days,  the  better  to  perform 
the  duties,  and  to  praise  God  for  the  mercies  commemo- 
rated the  day  following.     And  if  he  be  temperate  in  all 
things,  and  besides  that,  observes  these  prescribed  by  our 
Church,  as  really  days  of  fasting  and  abstinence,   it   is 
very  much  if  his  body  be  not  kept  in  due  subjection  to 
his  soul.     But  if  at  any  time  he  finds  it  is  not,  he  may 
add  some  more  days  as  he  sees  occasion :  especially  Wed- 


UNDER    SUCH   A   MINISTRY.  87 

nesdays,  which  were  also  observed  by  the  primitive 
Christians,  and  upon  which  our  Church  hath  appointed 
the  Litany  to  be  used,  as  well,  as  upon  Fridays.  And 
whatsoever  degrees  of  grace  and  virtue  he  shall  attain  to, 
he  nnust  never  think,  that  so  long  as  he  continues  in 
health,  he  stands  in  no  need  of  fasting  :  as  considering, 
that  the  great  Apostle  himself  was  forced  to  keep  his  body 
tinder,  and  bring  it  into  subjection,  lest  that  by  any  means, 
when  he  had  preached  unto  others,  he  himself  should  be  a 
cast-away^  1   Cor.  ix.  27. 

By  this  means,   therefore,  our  Christian  keeping  his 
mind  continually  serene,  and  free  from  any  annoyance 
or  disturbance  from  the  humors  of  the  body,  is  always 
in  a  right  disposition  to  receive  such  impressions  as  are 
necessary  to  the  making  him  a  real  and  true  saint ;  which 
that  he  may  be,  the  Church  useth  all  the  means  she  can, 
to  keep  his  soul  continually  possessed  with  a  deep  sense 
of  God,  and  with  as    high    apprehensions   of  the  great 
mysteries  of  the  Gospel,  as  it  is  capable  of.     For  which 
purpose  she  so  orders  it,  that  everything  relating  to  the 
public  service,  which  she  requires  him  to  perform  to  God, 
as  well  as   the  service  itself,  strikes  an   awe  and  rever- 
ence of  the  Divine  Majesty  into  him,  as  being  set  apart 
and  appropriated  only  to  that  use.     Thus  she  appoints 
some  certain  days,  wherein  to  lay  aside  all  other  business, 
and  apply  himself  wholly  to  this  ;  especially  she,  out  of 
God's  own  word,  enjoins  him  to  keep  holy  the  first  day 
in  every  week  ;  which  is  therefore  called  the  Lord's-day^ 
because  devoted  to  his  service.     Besides  which,  to  keep 
the  great  mysteries  of  the  Gospel  always  fresh  in  his  mind 
and  memory  she  prescribes  him  some  certain  days  every 
year,  whereon  to  commemorate  the  Nativity,  Circumci- 
sion, and  Manifestation  of  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  his  Pre- 


88  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

sentation  in  the  temple,  his  Passion,  Resurrection,  and 
Ascension,  and  his  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  An- 
nunciation of  the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  v/ith  the  lives  and 
deaths  of  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists,  who  did  not  only 
propagate  the  Gospel  in  the  world,  bnt  sealed  it  too  with 
their  own  blood.  For  the  very  setting  apart  of  these  and 
the  like  days  for  the  pubhc  worshipping  of  God,  condu- 
ceth  very  much  to  his  remembering  and  understanding 
the  great  things  transacted  on  them  ;  and  so  to  his  better 
apprehending  and  admiring  the  power  and  goodness  of 
God  discovered  in  them. 

And  for  this  reason  also  it  is,  that  she  requires  him  to 
perform  his  public  devotions  to  God,  in  God's  own  house, 
a  place  consecrated  wholly  to  him  and  his  service.  And 
for  his  better  doing  of  it  there,  she  appoints  one  of  God's 
own  ministers,  a  person  set  apart  for  that  very  office,  to 
assist  him  in  it.  And  she  commands  this  person,  at  that 
time,  to  be  in  a  different  habit  from  what  he  w^ears  at  any 
other  time  ;  and  all  to  take  off  our  Christian's  thoughts, 
as  much  as  may  be,  from  all  things  else,  and  to  fix  them 
only  upon  God,  and  the  great  work  he  is  now  about ;  the 
place,  the  minister,  the  habit,  every  one  putting  him  in 
mind  that  he  is  not  now  about  any  common  or  worldly 
employment ;  but  in  the  special  presence  of  Almighty  God, 
worshipping  him,  and  therefore,  both  in  soul  and  body, 
should  carry  himself  accordingly  w^ith  reverence  and 
godly  fear. 

And  then  as  for  the  service  itself,  the  Church  hath 
provided  him  such  a  Liturgy,  wherein  all  things  are  done 
to  his  edifying.  So  that  he  can  never  come  to  God's 
house,  but,  if  it  be  not  his  own  fault,  he  may  return 
home  again  wiser  and  better  than  he  came  ;  for  he  can 
want  for   nothing,   but  he  there  prays  for  it  ;  he   can 


UNDER   SUCH   A   MINISTRY.  89 

have  nothing,  but  he  there  gives  God  thanks  for  it ;  he 
can  be  ignorant  of  nothing  that  is  needful  for  him  to 
know,  but  he  is  there  taught  it.  And,  lest  he  should  at 
any  time  be  seduced  into  error,  or  tempted  to  sin  :  lest 
he  should  grow  flat  in  his  devotions,  cool  in  his  charity, 
remiss  in  any  duty  to  God  or  man,  or  careless  of  his  own 
eternal  good  ;  she  hath  ordered  the  holy  Scriptures  to  be 
often  expounded,  or  a  Sermon  preached  to  him  ;  and 
that  too,  not  by  any  one  that  will  undertake  it  (for  then 
the  remedy  might  prove  worse  than  the  disease),  but  by 
one  who,  by  fasting  and  prayer,  and  the  solemn  imposi- 
tion of  the  bishop's  hands,  is  ordained  to  that  office  ;  by 
one  who  hath  subscribed  to  all  the  Articles  of  religion  ; 
by  one  who  hath  publicly  declared  his  unfeigned  assent 
and  consent  to  the  use  of  all  things  contained  and  pre- 
scribed in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  ;  by  one  approved 
of,  and  licensed  thereunto,  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  ; 
who,  if  he  find  just  cause  for  it,  is  empowered  and  oblio-ed 
to  take  away  his  license  again,  and  to  suspend  him  from 
the  execution  of  his  office.  So  that  if  our  Christian  lives 
under  a  minister  that  doth  not  act  according  to  the  rules, 
or  doth  not  preach  according  to  the  doctrine,  of  the 
Gospel,  or  doth  not  perform  his  duty  in  everything  as  he 
ought  ;  it  is,  in  a  great  measure,  his  own  fault,  in  that 
he  doth  not  acquaint  the  bishop  with  it,  whose  office  it 
is  to  redress  such  grievances  as  these  are.  So  that  if  he 
will  himself,  he  may  be  sure  to  have  the  word  of  God 
rightly,  duly,  and  constantly  administered  to  him  :  and 
not  only  the  Word,  but  likewise  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  which  he  is  required  to  receive  as  often 
as  possibly  he  can,  to  put  him  in  mind  of  what  his 
Saviour  hath  done  and  suffered  for  his  sins  ;  and  so  to 
eonfirm^his  feith  in  him,  inflame  his  love  to  him,  and  to 


90 

dispose  and  qualify  him  the  better  to  converse  with 
Christ  in  heaven  ;  to  which  nothing  contributes  more 
than  frequent  address  to  him  in  this  holy  Sacrament  upon 
earth. 

Thus  therefore  it  is,  that  he  who  holds  constant  Com- 
munion with  our  Church,  is  continually  employed  by 
her,  about  some  or  other  of  those  means,  which  Christ 
hath  ordained  for  his  salvation,  and  to  which  he  hath  pro- 
mised the  assistance  of  his  own  Spirit.  By  virtue  where- 
of, the  Christian  we  have  hitherto  discoursed  of  is  enabled 
to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly ^ 
righteously  J  and  godly  in  this  present  world.  But  having 
spent  some  time  in  such  holy  exercises  as  these  are,  we 
must  suppose  him  at  length  to  be  seized  with  some  dis- 
temper, in  order  to  his  departure  into  the  other  world  : 
and  then  the  Church,  to  show  her  great  care  of  him  to 
the  last,  requires  the  minister  of  the  parish  where  he 
lives  to  go  and  give  him  a  solemn  visit.  And  that  he 
may  be  sure  to  have  the  best  directions  that  can  be  given 
him  at  that  great  juncture,  she  herself  hath  drawn  up  an 
Order  for  the  visitation  of  him,  and  likewise  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  holy  Communion  to  him  ;  which  is 
the  best  cordial  he  can  take  to  support  his  spirits,  and 
carry  him  through  the  great  work  he  hath  now  to  do. 
And  when  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God,  of  his  great 
mercy,  to  take  unto  himself  the  soul  of  this  our  dear 
brother,  the  minister,  by  order  and  in  the  name  of  the 
Church,  commits  his  body  to  the  ground,  in  certain  and 
sure  hope  of  a  joyful  resurrection  to  eternal  life,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

Thus  we  see  how  our  Christian,  from  his  first  admis- 
sion into  the  Church  militant  upon  earth,  is  conducted 
and  governed  all  along  by  her,  until  at  length  he  is  ad- 


UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  91 

vanced  to  the  Church  triumphant  in  heaven.  From 
whence  it  is  easy  to  observe  what  an  excellent  method 
she  proceeds  in,  and  what  effectual  means  she  useth,  for 
the  attaining  so  great  an  end  ;  and,  by  consequence,  how 
necessary  it  is  for  all  of  us  to  be  so  added  to  the  Churchy 
as  to  continue  steadfast  in  her  communion,  and  carefully 
to  follow  all  her  directions,  if  ever  we  desire  to  be  saved. 
For  although  I  have  instanced  only  in  one  single  person, 
we  are  all  equally  concerned  in  what  has  been  said  of 
him  :  yea,  every  one  of  us  should  look  upon  himself  as 
the  person  spoken  of  all  along.  For  I  hope  we  are  all 
baptized,  and  so  admitted  into  the  Church,  as  I  supposed 
him  to  be  :  and  therefore  if  we  do  but  observe  these 
rules,  which  she  out  of  God's  holy  word  hath  laid  before 
us,  as  I  supposed  him  to  do,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
we  also  ere  long  shall  be  glorified  saints  in  the  heavens. 

But  I  am  very  sensible,  that  for  all  the  great  care  that 
our  Church  taketh  of  all  her  children,  many  of  them  are 
very  undutiful  and  disobedient  to  her,  and  so  careless  of 
their  own  salvation,  that  they  do  not  only  neglect,  but 
despise,  the  means  which  she  administers  for  the  attain- 
ment of  it.  But  what  then  doth  she  do  with  such  as 
these  .''  In  short,  she  in  great  wisdom  and  prudence 
makes  use-of  all  the  fair  means  that  can  be  thought  of  for 
the  reclaiming  of  them.  But  if  that  will  not  do,  she  deli- 
vers them  over  to  Satan,  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh, 
that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord.  But 
seeing  the  excellency  of  our  Church  appeareth  in  the 
exercise  of  her  power,  as  much  as  in  anything  else,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  if  we  take  a  short  view  of  that  wise 
and  excellent  method  which  she  observeth  in  it. 

First,  therefore,  our  Church  being,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  of  the  same  extent  with  the  kingdom  in  which  we 


92  SALVATION   IN   THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

live,  and  as  so,  subject  to  the  same  prince,  as  its  su- 
preme governor  upon  earth  ;  for  the  better  management 
of  that  power  which  Christ  hath  left  with  it,  it  is  divided 
into  two  provinces,  over  each  of  which  there  is  an  arch- 
bishop :  each  province  is  sub-divided  into  several  dioceses, 
over  every  one  whereof  there  is  a  bishop  :  in  every 
diocese  there  is  one  or  more  archdeacons  :  every  archdea- 
conry is  divided  into  several  deaneries,  and  every  deanery 
into  several  parishes.  And  in  every  parish,  as  there  is  a 
priest  rightly  ordained  for  the  administration  of  the  Word 
and  Sacraments,  to  all  the  Christians  that  live  there  ;  so 
there  are  other  officers,  called  church-v/ardens,  chosen 
every  year,  and  appointed  not  only  to  look  to  the  fabric  of 
the  church  belonging  to  the  said  parish,  and  to  provide 
all  things  necessary  for  the  worshipping  of  God  in  it,  but 
likewise  to  inspect  the  lives  and  actions  of  all  the  Chris- 
tians that  live  there  ;  to  take  notice  of  all  that  live  in 
any  notorious  sin,  or  neglect  the  means  which  God  hath 
ordained  for  their  salvation,  and  to  certify  and  present 
their  names  to  such  officers  as  the  Church  hath  appoint- 
ed to  consider  what  to  do  in  such  cases.  And  although 
such  persons,  being  Christians,  are  obliged  by  their  reli- 
gion to  take  all  the  care  they  can  of  their  neighbors' 
souls,  and  therefore  to  acquaint  the  Church  with  their 
evil  and  pernicious  courses,  that  she  may  interpose  her 
power  for  the  reclaiming  of  them  ;  yet  to  bind  them  more 
strictly  to  it,  when  they  are  admitted  into  that  office,  they 
take  a  solemn  oath,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God, 
truly  and  faithfully  to  execute  the  same,  to  the  best  of 
their  skill  and  knowledge.  And  that  none  of  them  may 
be  ignorant  of  what  they  are  to  present,  they  have  Arti- 
cles  of    Inquiry  delivered    to   them,  wherein    all  and 


UNDER    SUCH    A    MINISTKY.  93 

every  thing  and  person  presentable  is  plainly  and  distinct- 
ly set  down. 

And  as  this  is  certainly  the  best  and  surest  way  that 
the  Church  could  ever  find  out,  whereby  to  understand 
which  of  her  members  either  neglect  those  duties  which 
should  further  their  salvation,  or  commit  such  sins  as  will 
impede  and  hinder  it  ;  so  is  the  course  too  that  she  takes 
for  the  correcting  and  reforming  them.  For  as  the 
church-wardens  are  obliged  to  make  their  presentments 
twice  a  year,  and  may  do  it  oftener  if  occasion  require 
it ;  so  is  the  bishop  obliged  to  go  about  his  diocese  once 
every  three  years,  that  he  may  understand  the  state  of 
the  flock  committed  to  him,  of  which  he  must  one  day 
give  a  strict  account  to  the  great  Shepherd  of  souls. 
And  lest  anything  should  happen  in  the  mean  time,  that 
may  require  a  more  speedy  examination,  he,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  primitive  and  catholic  Church,  hath 
one  or  more  archdeacons  under  him,  canonically  ordain- 
ed, authorized,  and  required,  every  one  to  visit  so  much 
of  the  diocese,  as  is  under  his  jurisdiction,  once  a  year, 
or  oftener,  if  need  be,  to  receive  the  foresaid  present- 
ments, and  to  inspect,  and,  what  in  him  lies,  reform  all 
irregularities,  either  in  clergy  or  laity.  And  moreover, 
that  the  Church  may  never  want  an  opportunity  of  being 
informed  of  any  misdemeanors  that  she  is  bound  to  take 
cognizance  of,  she  hath  other  officers  both  under  the 
bishop  and  archdeacon,  who  keep  her  courts  all  the  year 
long,  as  occasion  happens,  and  have  power  to  cite  all 
delinquents  that  are  presented,  and  to  examine  and  try 
all  such  ecclesiastical  causes  and  matters  as  are  brought 
before  them. 

But  here  we  must  observe,  that  as  the  church-wardens 
of  every  parish,  who  present  offenders  to  any  of  these 
5* 


91  SALVATION   IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

courts,  are  always  laymen,  so  the  chancellors,  commis- 
saries, officials,  and  other  officers  in  these  courts,  who 
receive  and  examine  such  presentments,  are  ordinarily, 
laymen  too  ;  and  it  is  but  reasonable,  and  in  some  sense 
necessary,  they  should  be  so.  For  if  none  but  cler- 
gymen should  search  into  the  faults  of  the  laity,  the  laity 
might  be  apt  to  suspect  they  were  too  severely  dealt 
with  :  whereas  being  tried  by  men  of  their  own  rank  and 
brotherhood  before  sentence  is  passed  upon  them,  they 
cannot  blame  the  Church  for  it,  nor  imagine  that  she  can 
have  any  other  design  upon  them,  but  only  to  do  them 
good,  and  make  them  better.  Besides  that  the  causes 
which  are  brought  into  these  courts  are  many,  and  take 
up  a  great  deal  of  time  before  they  can  be  brought  to  an 
issue  :  and  therefore,  if  clergymen  only  should  be  em- 
ployed in  them,  it  would  take  them  off  too  much  from 
the  ministry  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments,  which  they 
are  obliged  by  their  office  continually  to  attend  :  espe- 
cially considering  that  the  causes  are  not  only  many,  but 
diverse  too,  and  some  very  intricate  and  mixed  ;  so  that 
to  search  into  the  bottom  of  them  all,  and  fully  to  under- 
stand what  is  just  and  meet  to  be  done  in  every  one  of 
them,  requires  great  knowledge  and  skill  in  the  whole 
body  of  the  ecclesiastical  laws,  and  the  temporal  too, 
so  far  as  they  any  way  concern  the  Church  ;  which  no 
man  can  attain  to,  without  making  it  his  constant  busi- 
ness and  study.  Which  not  consisting  with  the  many 
other  duties  incumbent  upon  those  who  are  ordained  to 
any  holy  function,  the  Church  always  found  it  necessary 
that  her  bishops,  and  all  that  exercise  her  jurisdiction  un- 
der them,  should  have  some  of  her  members  learned  in 
the  laws,  to  direct  and  assist  them  in  the  administration 
of  it,  and  under  them  to  transact  and  try  all  causes  relating 


UNDER   SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  95 

thereunto.  Which  doubtless,  all  things  considered,  is  the 
best  way  the  Church  could  ever  think  of,  whereby  to 
secure  her  governors  from  being  maligned,  her  laws  from 
being  violated,  and  so  her  members  from  being  injured 
through  mistake  or  ignorance. 

Neither  must  we  look  upon  this  as  any  novel  inven- 
tion, but  as  the  sense  and  the  practice  of  the  universal 
Church  for  many  ages :  for  we  find  such  ecclesiastical 
officers  as  those  are,  mentioned  near  1200  years  ago  by 
Justinian  the  Emperor,  who,  in  his  Code  and  Novel, 
sometimes  calls  them  by  their  Greek  name  Ecdicos  Ec- 
clesicB  or  Eccle.siecdicos,  1.  xlii.  C.  de  Episcop.  et  Cler. : 
sometimes  by  the  hsitmj  Defensores  Ecclesue,  that  is,  pro- 
perly, church-advocatesj  ecclesiastical  lawyers :  and 
sometimes  Episcoporum  EcclesiecdicoSj  the  bishop's  ec- 
clesiastical advocates,  lib,  vi.  C  de  his  qui  ad  Ecclesiam 
confiig.  Novell  56,  which  he  reckons  amongst  lay-officers, 
and  yet  supposeth  them  to  be  in  every  Church,  and  to 
take  care  of  the  affairs  of  it  under  the  bishop,  1.  xlii.  C, 
de  Episc.  et  Cler.  §  9.  1.  xxxiv.  C.  de  Episcop,  Au- 
dientiaj  §  5.  Before  this,  we  meet  with  them  in  the 
Novels  of  Valentinian  the  Third,  Valent.  Novel,  tit.  12. 
As  also  in  the  Canons  of  the  fourth  General  Council,  held 
at  Chalcedon,  A.  D.451,  which  requires  that  clergymen 
and  monks,  which  stay  at  Constantinople  without  having 
any  business  there,  should  be  expelled  thence  by  the 
ecdic,  or,  as  we  say,  the  chancellor,  of  the  Church  : 
Chalced.  Can.  23.  And  elsewhere  the  same  General 
Council  reckons  these  ecdics,  or  advocates,  ibid.  Can  2, 
amongst  those  ecclesiastical  officers  which  are  not  admit- 
ted into  Holy  Orders,  and  yet  ought  not  to  give  any 
money  for  their  places.  From  whence  it  appears,  that 
these  lay-officers  were  at  that  time  received  and  estab- 


96  SALVATION    IN   THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

lished  in  all  the  provinces  and  dioceses  of  the  universal 
Church :  for  otherwise  this  General  Council,  consisting 
of  above  six  hundred  bishops,  gathered  together  from  all 
parts  of  the  Christian  world,  would  never  have  made  any 
laws  about  them. 

How  long  before  this  they  were  brought  into  the 
Church,  I  shall  not  undertake  to  determine.  Only  this 
we  know,  that  the  African  bishops  assembled  in  Coun- 
cil, A.  D.  407,  Concil.  Carthag.  Can.  100.  edit.  Oxon.y 
made  it  their  request  to  the  emperors  Arcadius  and  Ho- 
norius,  that  they  might  have  liberty  to  choose  and  con- 
stitute church-advocates  out  of  those  who  pleaded  in  the 
civil  courts,  who  might  manage  the  affairs,  and  defend 
the  rights  and  privileges,  of  the  Church  there.  And  that 
this  request  w^as  readily  granted,  is  plain  from  the  rescript 
of  the  said  emperors  to  that  purpose,  directed  within  six 
months  after  to  the  proconsul  of  Africa,  still  extant  in  the 
Theodosian  code,  1.  xxxviii.  C.  T.  Episcopis  Eccles.  et 
Cler.  From  whence  it  seems,  that  those  advocates  were 
not  suffered  before  this  time  to  plead  for  the  Church 
in  the  civil  courts  of  Africa ;  but  it  doth  not  follow  but 
they  might  be  employed  before,  both  there  and  elsewhere, 
in  the  ecclesiastical.  And  it  is  very  probable  that  these 
offices  began  to  be  erected,  if  not  before,  at  least  soon 
after,  the  empire  became  Christian,  so  that  the  Church 
had  free  liberty  to  exercise  her  power  and  authority  in  it, 
and  was  not  only  allowed  to  do  it,  but  countenanced  and 
assisted  by  the  secular  power.  For  then  there  was  a 
necessity  for  having  such  officers,  not  only  for  the  reasons 
before  mentioned,  but  likewise  because  the  emperors 
themselves,  in  favor  of  the  Church,  put  forth  several 
edicts  and  laws  concerning  ecclesiastical  persons  and  mat- 
ters :  which  being  drawn  up  in  the  same  form  and  man- 


UNDER   SUCH   A   MINISTRY.  97 

ner,  and  intermixed  with  the  civil  laws,  could  never  be 
duly  executed  but  by  persons  skilled  in  the  imperial,  as 
well  as  the  ecclesiastical,  laws,  and  in  the  way  and  man- 
ner of  proceeding  upon  them.  And  therefore  from  that 
time  forward  it  was  necessary  that  such  advocates,  as  had 
been  trained  up  in  the  civil  law,  should  he-,  appointed  and 
empowered  to  order  and  manage  the  ecclesiastical  courts 
under  the  bishop  in  every  diocese,  that  so  both  the  laws 
of  the  empire  that  had  any  relation  to  the  Church,  and 
those  which  were  made  by  the  Church  itself,  might  be 
duly  executed  in  due  form  and  manner,  so  as  not  to  con- 
tradict, but  be  assistant  to,  one  another. 

But  at  what  time,  and  for  what  reasons  soever,  these 
officers  were  first  brought  into  the  Church,  it  is  manifest, 
from  the  aforesaid  Canons  of  the  fourth  General  Coun- 
cil, that  the  universal  Church  had  then  received  them  ; 
and  that  they  have  been  all  along  continued  ever  since, 
can  be  doubted  of  by  none  that  are  conversant  in  church 
history.  Neither  can  any  man  yet  imagine,  that  the  uni- 
versal Church  for  so  many  ages  together  should  agree  in 
such  a  thing  as  this,  but  upon  very  good  grounds  and 
reasons.  Howsoever,  the  general  practice  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  is  a  sufficient  obligation  as  well  as  warrant  to 
every  particular  church,  to  observe  the  same  as  near  as  it 
can.  And  therefore  it  was,  that  our  Church  at  the  Re- 
formation, looking  upon  herself  as  obliged  to  hold  com- 
munion with  the  Catholic,  as  well  as  to  separate  from  the 
Romish,  Church,  retained  this  ancient  and  general  form 
of  keeping  her  courts  by  advocates  learned  in  the  civil  and 
canon  law ;  who  are  nominated  and  approved  of  by  the 
bishop  in  every  diocese,  but  receive  their  power  and  au- 
thority not  only  from  him,  but  from  the  laws  of  the 
Church  ;  yea,  and  of  the  State  too,  there  being  scarce  any 


98  SALVATION    IN    THE    CHtfRCH    ONLV; 

custom  or  usa^e  (upon  which  the  common  law  of  the 
land  is  grounded)  in  the  whole  kingdom,  that  can  plead 
longer  prescription  than  this  can. 

But  seeing  these,  as  all  other  courts  in  the  world,  may- 
be liable  to  abuses  and  corruptions,  to  prevent  them  as 
much  as  may  be,  the  Church  in  her  Canons  doth  not  only 
require  a  solemn  oath  to  be  taken  by  every  one  that  shall 
be  admitted  into  any  office  there.  Can.  127,  to  deal  up- 
rightly and  justly  in  the  same,  without  respect  or  favor 
of  reward  ;  but  hath  likewise  provided  suitable  punish- 
ments. Can.  134,  to  be  inflicted  upon  those  who  shall 
either  neglect  their  duty,  exceed  their  commission,  or  do 
anything  unbeseeming  the  place  they  are  in.  And  if,  not- 
withstanding all  this,  any  one  shall  be  unjustly  dealt  with, 
or  but  think  himself  to  be  so,  he  may  appeal  from  the 
lower  to  the  higher  courts,  from  the  archdeacon  to  the 
bishop,  from  the  bishop  to  the  archbishop,  and  from  him 
to  the  queen :  who  being  in  all  her  dominions  supreme 
governor  over  all  persons,  in  all  causes,  as  well  eccle- 
siastical as  temporal,  as  it  is  necessary  that  she  should 
have  these  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  temporal  courts  under 
her,  where  such  cases  may  be  judged  ;  so  when  they 
are  brought  up  so  high  as  to  herself,  they  must  needs  be 
finally  determined,  forasmuch  as  from  her  no  appeal  can 
be  to  any  other  court  or  person  upon  earth. 

Now  these  courts  being  thus  established  in  the  Church, 
when  any  offender  is  presented  into  any  of  them,  he  is 
cited  to  appear  there,  which  if  he  neglect  or  refuse  to  do, 
he  is  pronounced  contumacious,  one  that  resisteth  or 
contemneth  the  power  that  Christ  hath  given  to  his 
Church,  which  for  many  reasons  was  always  judged  one 
of  the  greatest  sins  that  a  Christian  can  be  guilty  of :  and 
therefore  is  proceeded  against  accordingly.     But  if  he  ap- 


UNDER   SUCH   A   MINISTRY.  99 

pear,  his  cause  is  impartially  searched  into ;  and  if  upon 
due  examination  he  be  found  innocent,  he  is  presently 
discharged  :  but  if  he  appears  to  be  guilty  of  any  noto- 
rious crime,  which  the  Church  is  bound  to  take  notice  of, 
she  useth  all  means  possible  to  bring  him  to  a  just  sense 
of  his  sin,  to  a  hearty  repentance  for  it,  and  to  make  what 
satisfaction  he  can  for  the  offence  that  he  hath  given  to  all 
good  Christians  by  it.  But  if  all  other  means  prove  in- 
effectual, she  casts  him  out  of  her  communion,  and  so 
from  the  society  of  all  good  Christians,  according  to  the 
saying  of  our  Lord,  If  he  neglect  to  hear  the  Churchy  let 
him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man,  and  a  publican,  Matt, 
xviii.  17.  But  so,  that  if  he  shall  afterwards  repent  and 
submit  himself,  the  Church  is  always  ready  to  receive 
him  into  her  bosom  again,  there  to  nourish  and  provide 
all  things  for  him,  that  he  may  be  saved. 

Thus  in  that  of  our  own,  I  have  briefly  run  through 
the  whole  constitution  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  the 
several  means  that  are  used  in  it,  and  in  it  only,  for  the 
salvation  of  men's  souls,  which  whosoever  seriously  con- 
siders, can  never  wonder  that  they  who  shall  be  saved^ 
should  be  added  to  the  Church. 

Nothing  now  remains,  but  to  show  what  influence  the 
consideration  of  these  things  should  have  upon  our  minds 
and  actions,  which  shall  be  soon  despatched.  For  if  we 
recollect  what  hath  been  said  upon  this  subject,  and  lay 
it  so  together,  that  we  may  take  a  full  view  of  the  whole 
method  observed  in  the  Church,  for  the  making  us  holy 
here,  and  happy  for  ever,  we  cannot  but  easily  see,  both 
what  necessity  there  is  of  our  being  added  to  the  Church 
in  general,  and  what  infinite  cause  we  have  to  give  our 
most  humble  and  hearty  thanks  to  God,  both  for  his  set- 
tling and  restoring  such  a  Church  as  this  is  to  us.     A 


100        SALVATION    IN    THE    CHURCH    ONLY, 

Church  wherein  all  the  means  of  grace  and  salvation  are 
so  duly  and  effectually  administered  to  us,  that  if  we  be 
not  failing-  to  ourselves  in  the  use  of  them,  we  cannot  but 
be  saved.  A  Church  so  exactly  conformable  to  the 
Catholic  in  all  things,  that  none  can  separate  from  her 
without  making  a  schism  in  Christ's  mystical  body,  and 
consequently  endangering  the  salvation  of  his  own  soul. 
A  Church  so  far  exceeding  those  of  Rome  and  Geneva, 
that  would  either  papists  or  sectaries  lay  aside  their  pre- 
judices, and  impartially  consider  what  our  Church  is, 
and  compare  it  with  their  own,  they  would  need  no  other 
arguments  to  persuade  them  to  return  unto  her,  and  to 
live  and  die  in  constant  communion  with  her.  A  Church, 
to  say  no  more,  as  orthodox  in  its  doctrine,  as  regular  in 
its  discipline,  as  grave  and  solemn  in  its  worship,  as 
agreeable  to  Scripture-rules,  as  well  accommodated  to  the 
whole  design  of  the  Gospel  for  the  bringing  of  souls  to 
heaven,  as  any  Church  in  the  whole  world.  And  that 
such  a  Church  as  this  should  be  at  first  planted  amongst 
us,  and  after  it  had  been  destroyed  by  the  malice  of  the 
devil  and  his  agents,  should  be  again  restored  to  us  by 
the  immediate  hand  of  God,  who  can  think  of  it  without 
adoring  the  hand  that  did  if? 

But  we  must  remember  to  show  forth  his  praise  for  so 
great  a  mercy,  not  only  with  our  lips,  but  in  our  lives,  by 
giving  up  ourselves  wholly  to  his  service,  according  to  the 
rules  and  orders  of  the  Church,  which  he  hath  thus 
graciously  settled  amongst  us  ;  that  as  we  have  the  best 
of  Churches,  we  may  be  likewise  the  best  of  people  ;  and 
so  shame  our  adversaries  on  all  sides  into  an  hearty  com- 
pliance with  our  ecclesiastical  constitution,  by  letting 
them  see  how  far  we  exceed  them  in  true  piety  and  de- 
votion, and  read  the  excellency  of  our  Church  in  the  ex- 


UNDER   SUCH    A   MINISTRY.  101 

cellency  of  our  lives,  who  hold  communion  with  her.  By 
this  means,  as  many,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  have  been 
lately  added  to  our  Churchy  there  will  be  daily  more  and 
more.  This  also  would  be  a  most  effectual  way,  where- 
by to  secure  and  defend  our  Church  against  heresy  and 
schism,  against  popery  and  superstition,  against  profane- 
ness  and  debauchery,  and  against  all  those  diabolical  stra- 
tagems and  devices,  those  seditious  principles  and  prac- 
tices, whereby  it  was  destroyed  once,  and  was  like  to 
have  been  so  again  but  very  lately.  For  if  we  do  but 
live  answerably  to  the  means  that  we  enjoy,  and  serve, 
and  please,  and  worship,  and  obey  God,  as  our  Church 
directs  us,  we  need  not  fear  what  men  or  devils  can  do 
against  us,  nor  concern  ourselves  with  what  may,  or 
what  may  not,  happen  hereafter  ;  but  still  trust  in  God, 
who  as  he  hath  delivered  us,  he  will  yet  deliver  us.  We 
have  no  cause  to  doubt  of  his  kindness  and  favor  to  our 
Church,  having  had  so  great,  so  wonderful,  experience 
of  it  already. 

But  for  that  end,  we  must  be  sure  to  live,  as  in  the 
true  faith  and  fear  of  God,  so  also  in  humble  obedience 
and  steadfast  loyalty  to  the  queen  ;  for  that  is'absolutely 
necessary,  not  only  as  a  duty  in  itself  to  God,  but  like- 
wise as  a  means  for  the  supporting  our  Church,  by 
strengthening  the  hands  of  her,  whom  God  is  pleased  to 
make  the  happy  instrument  of  preserving  it  to  us.  And 
therefore  I  cannot  but  admire  with  what  confidence  we 
can  profess  any  value  or  kindness  for  the  Church,  and  yet 
talk  or  act  seditiously  against  the  queen :  for  that  is  to 
pretend  to  uphold  the  Church  with  one  hand,  and  to  en- 
deavor in  good  earnest  to  pluck  it  down  with  the  other. 
Be  sure,  all  the  real  members  of  our  Church  are  as  faith- 
ful subjects  to  the  crown  ;  neither  can  they  be  otherwise, 


102 

forasmuch  as  the  spirit  which  runs  through  the  whole 
body  of  the  cathohc,  and  by  consequence  our,  Church, 
as  1  have  shown,  puts  them  upon  universal  obedience  to 
all  the  commands  of  God  ;  and  to  these  amongst  the  rest, 
of  honoring  the  king,  and  being  subject  and  obedient  to 
the  higher  powers.  And  hence  it  is,  that  as  we  never 
heard  of  any  rebels  in  the  primitive  Church,  so  neither 
are  there,  nor  can  be,  any  such  amongst  those  who  are 
really  of  ours;  which  is  the  great  glory  of  our  Church, 
and  a  clear  demonstration  of  its  apostolical  constitution, 
and  that  which,  if  duly  considered,  would  make  all  the 
Christian  princes  in  the  world  endeavor  to  reform  the 
Churches  seated  in  their  dominions  according  to  her  pat- 
tern and  example  ;  and  to  protect  them  too,  when  they 
are  so  reformed  :  although  it  was  for  nothing  else,  but  to 
keep  their  kingdoms  quiet,  and  so  make  the  government 
easy  to  themselves;  much  more,  if  they  respect  their 
own  and  their  people's  souls,  that  they  may  be  saved. 

But  that  we  may  all  be  so,  we  must  not  think  it 
enough  to  be  admitted  into  the  Church,  and  made  visible 
members  of  it.  For  though  all  that  shall  be  saved,  are 
added  to  the  Church  :  yet  it  doth  not  follow,  that  all  who 
are  so  added  to  the  Church,  shall  be  saved.  It  is  true, 
all  such  are  in  a  state  of  salvation,  and  in  the  way  to  it  ; 
but  except  they  continue  in  that  state,  and  walk  in  that 
way,  they  can  nev^er  attain  to  the  end  of  their  faith,  even 
the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

Wherefore,  I  humbly  pray  and  advise  all  that  desire 
in  good  earnest  to  be  saved,  that  you  would  not  content 
yourselves  with  being  members  of  the  Church  in  gene- 
ral, nor  yet  with  doing  only  some  of  those  things  which 
she  requireth  of  you  ;  but  to  use  all  the  means,  and  ob- 
serve the  whole  method,  which  she  out  of  God's  holy 


UNDER   SUCH    A    MINISTRY.  103 

word  hath  prescribed  for  that  end ;  otherwise  you  will 
certainly  deprive  yourselves  of  something  that  would 
have  been  very  beneficial,  if  not  necessary,  for  you  ;  as 
ye  may  easily  see,  if  ye  will  but  look  back  upon  that 
short  scheme  which  I  have  now  given  you  of  it.  As,  for 
example,  I  suppose  ye  are  all  baptized,  but  are  ye  con- 
firmed too  ?  If  ye  be  not,  ye  still  want  one  of  those 
means  which  the  holy  Apostles,  and  their  successors,  in 
all  ages,  have  used,  whereby  to  obtain  the  gifts  and  graces 
of  God's  Holy  Spirit  for  those  who  are  baptized.  And 
suppose  you  are  confirmed,  do  ye  also  observe  the  seve- 
ral fasts  of  the  Church  ?  If  ye  do  not,  it  will  be  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  keep  your  bodies  in  that 
due  frame  and  temper,  as  that  they  may  be  fit  temples 
for  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in.  And  supposing  ye  fast, 
do  ye  also  pray  to  Almighty  God,  both  publicly  and  pri- 
vately ?  And  do  ye  perform  your  public  devotions  to 
God  in  that  form,  after  that  manner,  and  at  such  times, 
as  the  Church  hath  appointed  ?  Do  ye  hearken  to  God's 
holy  word,  as  read  and  expounded  by  her  ?  Do  ye  re- 
ceive the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  oft  as  she 
is  ready  to  give  it  to  you  ?  If  ye  neglect  all,  or  any  of 
these,  and  the  like  means  of  salvation,  which  are  there 
administered,  you  had  as  good  be  out  of  the  Church  as 
in  it,  and  have  no  more  ground  to  expect  to  be  saved, 
than  you  have  to  accomplish  any  other  end  without  using 
the  means.  _^ 

Whereas,  do  ye  but  truly  and  constantly  observe  all 
and  every  one  of  those  means  which  our  Church,  as  I 
have  shown,  administereth  to  you,  and  trust  and  depend, 
as  ye  ought,  upon  the  promises  of  God,  for  the  assistance 
and  co-operation  of  his  Holy  Spirit  with  them  ;  and  I 
dare  assure  you,  in  the  name  and  in  the  presence  of  my 


104        SALVATION   IN   THE    CHURCH   ONLY. 

great  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ,  you  shall  soon  find 
them,  by  his  grace  and  blessing,  effectual  to  the  great 
ends  and  purposes  for  which  they  are  ordained,  even  to 
the  enlightening  of  your  minds,  to  the  regulating  of  your 
passions,  to  the  confirnjing  of  your  faith,  to  the  mortify- 
ing of  your  lusts,  and  to  the  making  you  real  and  true 
saints,  sincerely  pious  towards  God,  loyal  to  our  sover- 
eign, just  and  charitable  towards  all  men  :  by  which 
means  ye  will  be  fitted  and  qualified  not  only  for  the  par- 
don of  your  sins  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  but  likewise  for 
heaven  and  eternal  glory.  So  that  when  ye  depart  out 
of  this  world,  ye  will  be  admitted  into  the  blessed  society 
of  the  holy  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 
where  you  will  live  with  God  himself,  and  laud  and  mag- 
nify his  great  and  glorious  name,  both  for  his  continuing 
his  Church  to  you,  and  for  his  adding  you  to  his  Church, 
that  ye  might  be  saved,  by  the  merits  and  mediation  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ :  to  whom,  with  the 
Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all  honor  and  glory,  now 
and  for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON    IV. 


MINISTERS    OF   THE    GOSPEL,    CHRIST'S    AMBASSADORS. 


2  Cor.  v.  20. 

Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by 
us  ;  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  Godj 

We  live  in  an  age  and  among  a  people  that  place  a 
great  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  their  religion  in  hearing 
sermons  ;  and  yet  we  find  but  few  that  are  ever  the  more 
religious  for  all  they  hear,  most  contenting  themselves 
with  coming  to  church,  and  continuing,  or  perhaps  sitting 
down,  there  all  the  while  that  the  prayers  are  read,  and 
a  sermon  preached,  and  then  going  home  again,  without 
ever  concerning  themselves  any  further  about  what  they 
have  heard,  nor  so  much  as  thinking  of  it  any  more  ;  and 
then  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  are  never  the  wiser  nor 
the  better  for  it.  But  it  may  justly  seem  a  greater  won- 
der, how  it  comes  to  pass,  that  the  word  of  God,  which 
of  itself  is  sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,  should,  not- 
withstanding, make  so  little  impression  upon  those  who 
hear  it :  but  though  they  hear  it  over  and  over  again, 
they  are  never  pricked  in  their  hearts,  as  St.  Peter's  hear- 


106 


ers  were,  nor  any  way  touched  or  affected  with  it ;  but 
still  continue  just  as  they  were,  careless  and  unconcerned 
about  their  future  state  and  everything  relating  to  it, 
how  plainly,  how  powerfully  soever  it  is  pressed  upon 
them. 

This  may  justly  seem  strange  to  one  that  considers 
how  commonly  the  word  of  God  is  preached  among  us, 
both  in  the  city  and  country  :  but  several  reasons  may  be 
assigned  for  it ;  one  of  the  chief  is,  that  men,  in  hearing 
the  word  preached,  usually  look  no  further  than  to  him 
that  preacheth  it ;  taking  what  he  saith  to  them  as  com- 
ing only  from  him  their  fellow-creature,  a  man  of  like 
passions  with  themselves ;  and  therefore  regard  it  no 
more  than  what  is  said  by  any  other  man :  whereas  if 
they  really  believed  and  considered,  that  the  word  they 
hear  is  the  word  of  God  himself;  and  that  he  who  preach- 
eth it,  preacheth  not  in  his  own  name,  but  God's,  and 
accordingly  received  it  as  the  Thessalonians  did,  not  as 
the  word  of  man  hut  as  it  is  in  truth  the  word  of  God^  which 
effectually  worketh  in  them  that  believe,  1  Thess.  ii.  13,  they 
would  soon  find  it  working  effectually  also  upon  them  :  it 
would  then  come  with  that  power  and  force  upon  them, 
that  it  would  cut  them  to  the  heart,  and  make  them  cry  out, 
as  St.  Peter's  hearers  did,  Men  and  brethren  what  shall 
we  do  ?  Acts  ii.  37. 

This  therefore  is  that  which  St.  Paul,  in  my  text,  puts 
the  Corinthians  in  mind  of;  and  the  better  to  prepare 
them  for  it,  he  first  acquaints  them,  in  the  foregoing 
verses,  that  God  hath  reconciled  mankind  to  himself  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  he  hath  committed  the  word  and 
ministry  of  this  reconciliation  to  us,  the  Apostles  and 
their  successors  in  all  ages  ;  that  we,  in  his  name,  and 
by  his  authority,  might  publish  it  to  the  world,  and  per- 
suade men  to  accept  of  the  peace  which  he  now  offers  to 


Christ's  ambassadors.  107 

them,  so  as  to  be  reconciled  to  him,  as  he  is  to  them  by- 
Jesus  Christ.  And  having  said  this,  the  Apostle  draws 
this  conclusion  from  it,  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for 
Christy  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  bi/'tis  ;  we  pray  you 
in  Christ''s  stead  he  ye  reconciled  to  God. 

This  is  a  truth  so  necessary  for  all  Christians  to  know, 
that  it  is  the  first  thing  that  St,  Paul  put  those  he  wrote 
to  in  mind  of  in  all  his  Epistles  (which  he  wrote  as  from 
himself  only,  without  joining  any  other  with  him),  be- 
ginning them  with  saying,  Paul  the  apostle  of  Jesus  Christy 
or  Paul  called  to  he  an  apostle^  or  the  like  ;  that  they  to 
whom  he  wrote  might  know,  that  he  did  not  write  to  them 
as  a  private  person,  but  as  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christy  that 
is,  as  the  word  signifies,  a  legate  or  messenger  of  Christ, 
sent  and  empowered  by  him  to  write  :  that  so  they  might 
receive  what  he  was  about  to  write  to  them  not  as  coming 
from  him,  but  from  Christ  himself;  an  apostle  being  in 
effect  the  same  with  an  ambassador.  But  foreseeing  that 
this  name  would  in  process  of  time  be  appropriated  only 
to  the  twelve,  and  such  as  were  called  immediately  by 
Christ  himself,  as  he  and  some  others  were  ;  therefore  in 
my  text,  speaking  not  only  of  these,  but  of  such  also  as 
should  succeed  them  in  any  part  of  their  apostolical  office 
in  all  ages,  he  alters  the  phrase,  not  saying,  we  are  apos- 
ties,  but  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ ;  a  word  that  is 
commonly  known  to  signify  such  as  are  sent  by  a  prince 
into  a  foreign  country,  to  treat  in  his  name  about  matters 
of  state,  as  particularly  about  peace  and  war.  And  so 
Christ  himself  useth  the  word,  w^here,  speaking  of  a  king 
going  to  make  war  with  another  king,  he  saith,  that  he 
sits  down  first,  and  consults  ivhether  he  be  able  to  meet  him 
or  no  :  or  elsCj  while  the  other  is  a  great  way  off^  he  sendeth 
an  embassage^  and  desireth  conditions  of  peace  j  Luke  xiv. 


lOS  MINISTEKS    OF   THE    GOSPEL, 

32.  So  here,  although  Ahnighty  God  can  meet  with  us 
when  he  pleaseth,  and  we  are  no  way  able  to  withstand 
him  ;  yet  howsoever  he  is  graciously  pleased  to  send  some 
men  to  treat  with  others  in  his  name  about  peace  with 
him,  to  acquaint  them  with  the  easy  conditions  that  he 
hath  made  and  expects  from  them,  and  to  assure  them, 
that  upon  their  performance  of  the  said  conditions,  he  will 
be  reconciled  to  them,  and  at  peace  with  them.  And 
therefore  all  who  are  thus  sent  or  commissioned  by  him, 
to  act  in  his  name,  are  properly  called  ambassadors^  and  as 
the  apostle  here  saith,  ambassadors  for  Christ ,  or  in  the 
place  and  stead  of  Christ.  As  it  was  he  that  procured  this 
peace  for  mankind,  so  he  is  the  chief  manager  of  all  things 
relating  to  it ;  therefore  called,  the  angel ^  or,  as  we  trans- 
late it,  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,  Mai.  iii.  1.  Because 
he  w^as  sanctified  and  sent  by  the  Father,  to  publish  and 
declare  it  to  the  world,  John  vi.  57.  viii.  29,  and  x.  36,  and 
did  it  so  faithfully,  that  before  he  wen  tout  of  the  w^orld,  he 
could  truly  say  unto  the  Father,  I  have  manifested  thy  name 
unto  the  men  which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world, — I  have 
given  unto  them  the  words  which  thou  gavest  me,  and  they 
have  received  them,  and  have  known  surely  that  I  came  out 
from  thee,  and  they  have  believed  that  thou  didst  send  me, 
John  xvii._6,  8.  Where  we  may  likewise  observe,  that, 
like  a  wise  and  faithful  ambassador,  he  kept  strictly  to  the 
instructions,  and  to  the  very  words  which  the  Father  had 
given  him  ;  in  whose  name  he  professeth  that  he  came, 
and  spake,  and  acted  all  along  while  he  was  upon  earth, 
John  V.  43,  vii.  38,  and  x.  25. 

Wherefore  Jesus  Christ,  being  the  mediator  between 
God  and  men,  and  as  such  having  all  power  given  him  in 
heaven  and  earth,  for  the  transacting  the  great  business  of 
reconciliation  between  them  ;  when  he  was  about  to  leave 


CHRIST  S    AMBASSADORS.  109 

the  earth,  as  man,  and  go  up  to  heaven,  to  reside  there  as 
our  advocate  with  the  Father,  he  delegated  some  men  to 
suppl}^  his  place  upon  earth,  and  carry  on  the  great  work 
which  he  had  begun  amongst  men :  these  he  called  his 
apostles  or  ambassadors,  because  they  were  sent  by  him, 
and  empowered  to  act  in  his  name  and  stead,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  instructions  that  he  gave  them.  Which,  that 
the  world  in  all  ages  might  be  fully  assured  of,  he  ordered 
the  commission  which  he  granted  them  to  be  recorded, 
John  XX.,  where  it  is  M^itten,  that  the  same  day  on  which 
he  rose  from  the  dead,  in  the  evening,  he  came  to  them 
where  they  were  assembled,  and  when  he  had  convinced 
them  that  he  was  the  same  person  that  had  been  crucified 
three  days  before,  by  showing  them  his  hands  and  feet 
that  were  nailed  to  the  cross,  he  then  said  unto  them 
again.  Peace  he  unto  you.  As  my  Father  sent  wie,  even  so 
send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed  on 
them,  and  saith  unto  them^  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
whosesoever  sins  ye  remit.,  they  are  remitted  unto  them  ;  and 
whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained,  ver.  21, 
22,  23. 

Where  we  may  observe,  that  he  sent  them  after  the  very 
same  manner  as  the  Father  had  sent  him.  As  my  Father, 
saith  he,  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  therefore  as 
the  Father  had  sent  him,  by  anointing  him  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  for  the  office  he  was  to  perform,  Isa.  Ixi.  1,  Luke 
iv.  18,  Acts  X.  38,  which  was  signified  by  the  Spirit  de- 
scending like  a  dove,  and  lighting  upon  him,  when  he  was 
baptized,  and  inaugurated  into  the  said  office  ;  even  so  he 
sent  his  Apostles  :  for  he  breathed  on  them,  and  saith.  Re- 
ceive ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeding  from 
him,  as  it  doth  from  the  Father.  When  Christ  breathed 
upon  his  Apostles,  he  thereby  anointed  them  with  the 
6 


110  MINISTERS   OF   THE    GOSPEL, 

Holy  Ghosty  and  with  power ^  to  execute  the  office  which 
he  now  committed  to  them.  And  that  they  might  know, . 
that  this  was  designed  not  only  for  them,  but  for  all  that 
should  succeed  them  in  the  said  office  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  when  he  afterwards  gave  them  his  instructions  for 
the  execution  of  it,  he  said  to  them,  io,  I  am  with  you 
always^  even  to  the  end  of  the  worldy  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 
From  whence  the  Apostles  clearly  understanding  that 
their  office  was  to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world,  they 
took  care  to  confer  it  upon  others,  by  laying  their  hands 
upon  them,  and  so  transferring  to  them  of  the  same  Spirit 
which  they  had  received  from  Christ,  the  same  way  that 
Moses  had  done  it  by  God's  own  appointment  to  Joshua, 
Numb,  xxvii.  IS,  23.  And  therefore  such,  upon  whom 
they  laid  their  hands,  are  said  to  be  sent  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  particularly  Paul  and  Barnabas,  Acts  xiii.  4.  And 
the  same  St.  Paul  tells  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  upon  whom 
he  had  laid  his  hands,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them 
bishops  or  overseers^  Acts  xx.  28,  and  put  Timothy  in 
:  "lind  of  the  gift  of  God  which  was  in  him  by  the  laying 
on  of  his  hands,  2  Tim.  i.  6.  Thus  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  the  Apostles  received  immediately  from  Christ  him- 
self, hath  been  handed  down  from  them  to  others,  and  so 
to  others  successively  to  this  day,  and  will  be  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  And  all  such  on  whom  they,  who  regu- 
larly succeed  the  Apostles  in  their  whole  office,  lay  their 
hands  with  an  intention  to  confer  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  in 
the  ordination  of  priests  among  us  ;  they  also  receive  such 
a  measure  of  it,  whereby  they  are  qualified  and  commis- 
sioned to  act  in  Christ's  name  and  stead,  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Word  and  Sacraments,  as  the  Apostles 
themselves  did  ;  and  therefore  are  properly  ambassadors 
for  Christ,  as  they  were  :  and  Christ  is  as  really  with  them, 


Christ's  ambassadors.  Ill 

as  he  was  with  his  first  Apostles,  in  the  execution  of  their 
office  in  all  ages,  according  to  the  promise  he  made  them, 
of  being  with  them  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

It  was  necessary  to  make  this  as  plain  as  I  could  in  few 
words,  that  ye  may  understand  how  we  came  to  be  am- 
bassadors for  Christ,  as  the  Apostle  here  speaks,  so  as  to 
act  in  his  name,  and  by  his  commission,  without  which 
nothing  we  do  can  signify  anything.  Any  man  may  read 
the  Scriptures,  or  make  an  oration  to  the  people,  but  it  is 
not  that  which  the  Scriptures  call  preaching  the  word  of 
God,  unless  he  be  sent  by  God  to  do  it.  For  how  can 
they  preach  except  they  he  sent?  Rom.  x.  15.  A  butcher 
might  kill  an  ox  or  a  lamb,  as  well  as  the  high-priest ; 
but  it  was  no  sacrifice  to  God,  unless  one  of  his  priests 
did  it.  And  no  man  taketh  this  honor  to  himself  hut  he 
that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron,  Heb.  v.  4.  Any 
man  may  treat  of  public  affairs  as  well  as  an  ambassador  ; 
but  he  cannot  do  it  to  any  purpose,  without  a  commission 
from  his  prince.  As  suppose  a  foreign  nation  should  set 
up  one  among  themselves  to  make  a  league  with  England, 
what  would  that  signify,  when  he  is  not  authorized  by  the 
king  to  do  it  ?  And  yet  this  is  the  case  of  many  among 
us,  who,  as  the  Apostle  foretold,  cannot  endure  sound  doc- 
trine, hut  after  their  own  lusts  heap  to  themselves  teachers^ 
having  itching  ears,  2  Tim.  iv.  3.  But  such  teachers  as 
men  thus  heap  to  themselves,  howsoever  they  may  tickle 
their  itching  ears,  they  can  never  touch  their  hearts  :  for 
that  can  be  done  only  by  the  power  of  God,  accompany- 
inof  and  assistins:  his  own  institution  and  commission.  In- 
somuch  that  if  I  did  not  think,  or  rather  was  not  fully  as- 
sured, that  I  had  such  a  commission  to  be  an  ambassador 
for  Christ,  and  to  act  in  his  name  ;  I  should  never  think 
it  worth  the  while  to  preach  or  execute  any  ministerial 


112 

office.  For  I  am  sure,  that  all  I  did  would  be  null  and 
void  of  itself,  according  to  God's  ordinary  way  of  work- 
ing ;  and  we  have  no  ground  to  expect  miracles.  But 
blessed  be  God,  we  in  our  Church,  by  a  successive  impo- 
sition of  hands,  continued  all  along  from  the  Apostles 
themselves,  receive  the  same  Spirit  that  was  conferred 
upon  them  for  the  administration  of  the  Word  and  Sacra- 
ments ordained  by  our  Lord  and  Master,  and  therefore 
may  do  it  as  effectually  to  the  salvation  of  mankind  as 
they  did.  For  as  they  were,  so  are  we,  ambassadors  for 
Christ. 

As  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us,  or,  as  the  words 
may  be  rendered,  as  if  God  did  call  upon  you  by  us  ;  by 
us,  as  he  did  by  Christ,  whose  ambassadors  we  are,  and 
proxies  in  things  pertaining  unto  God.  So  that  God 
who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  times 
past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days 
spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,  Heb.  i.  1.-  He  still  continues 
to  speak  by  those  whom  his  Son  hath  sent  to  speak  in 
his  name.  As  the  Son  himself  said  to  his  Apostles,  and 
in  them  to  all  that  should  regularly  succeed  them.  It  is 
not  ye  that  speak  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that  speak- 
eth  in  you,  Matt.  x.  20.  Whatsoever  we  speak  accord- 
ing to  the  instructions  which  Christ  our  Master  hath 
given  us,  it  is  in  truth  the  word  of  God,  1  Thes.  ii.  13.  It 
is  God  that  speaketh  by  us  ;  according  to  that  of  David, 
The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake  by  me,  and  his  word  was  in 
my  tongue,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  2.  For  we  speaking  only 
what  Christ  our  Lord  spake  before  us,  and  speaking  it 
only  in  his  name,  and  by  his  authority,  as  what  he  spake 
was  the  word  of  God,  so  is  that  which  we  speak  too  : 
for  we  speak,  or  as  it  were,  repeat  it  only  after  him,  as  his 
ambassadors,  sent  by  hitn  to  speak  it  in  his  place  and  stead. 


Christ's  ambassadors.  113 

And  therefore  it  follows  in  the  text,  we  pray  you  in 
Chrisfs  stead;  as  if  Christ  himself  was  here  present. 
For  he  being  now,  as  to  his  body,  in  heaven,  he  sends 
his  ministers  or  ambassadors  to  represent  him,  and  supply 
his  place  upon  earth,  and  to  do  in  his  name  what  he  him- 
self did  when  he  was  here,  and  would  still  do  if  he  was 
now  present  in  body  as  he  is  by  his  Spirit  and  power  ; 
according  to  the  aforesaid  promise,  which  he  made  to 
his  apostles  and  ambassadors  in  all  ages,  io,  I  am  with 
you  always  even  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  according  to 
what  he  told  them  upon  another  occasion,  saying,  He 
that  heareth  you^  heareth  me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you, 
despiseth  me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  me,  despiseth  him  that 
sent  me,  Luke  x.  18.  Whereby  he  plainly  signified  what 
he  afterwards  told  them  in  express  terms,  that  as  the 
Father  sent  him,  so  he  sent  them,  as  his  ambassadors,  to 
treat  in  his  name  ;  and  that  as  the  persons  of  ambassa- 
dors are  always  reckoned  sacred  and  inviolable,  so  what 
an  ambassador  doth  in  the  name  of  his  prince,  is  look- 
ed upon  as  done  by  the  prince  himself;  and  as  an  affront 
offered  to  an  ambassador  reflects  on  the  prince  that  sent 
him,  so  whatsoever  is  done  to  the  ministers  or  ambassa- 
dors of  Christ  as  such,  is  done  to  Christ  himself.  They 
who  hear  them,  haar  him  ;  and  they  who  despise  them,  de- 
spise him  ;  as  they  who  despise  him  whom  the  Father 
sent,  despise  the  Father  who  sent  him. 

From  hence,  therefore,  ye  may  see,  how  truly  the 
Apostle  here  saith,  We  pray  you  in  Chrisfs  stead  ;  and 
how  necessary  it  is  for  you  to  hearken  to  what  we  say 
in  his  name,  lest  ye  be  found  in  the  number  of  those  who 
despise  Christ,  together  with  the  doctrine  that  he  teach- 
eth,  and  the  advice  that  he  gives  you  by  us  :  for  it  is  in 
his  stead,  we  pray  you.     But  what  do  we  pray  you  in 


114  MINISTERS    OF   THE    GOSPEL, 

his  stead  to  do  ?  Nothing  but  what  is  really  for  your 
good  ;  nothing  but  what  tends  to  your  eternal  happiness 
and  welfare  ;  and  therefore  nothing  but  what  it  is  your 
interest  to  do,  whether  we  prayed  you  to  do  it  or  no.  For 
seeing  Christ  came  into  the  world  for  no  other  end  but 
to  make  you  happy,  and  hath  done  and  suffered  so  much 
as  he  hath  for  that  only  purpose  :  ye  cannot  imagine, 
that  he  by  us,  or  we  from  him,  should  pray  you  to  do 
anything  but  what  is  indispensably  necessary  in  order  to 
your  attainment  of  true  fehcity.  And  although  we  do 
not  command,  but  only  pray  you  in  ChrisPs  stead  ;  yet  it 
being  in  his  stead  we  pray^  ye  ought  to  give  the  same 
deference  to  it,  as  if  we  commanded  you.  The  request 
of  an  earthly  prince  is  taken  by  his  faithful  subjects  as  a 
command  :  how  much  more  when  the  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords  is  pleased  to  condescend  so  far  as  to  make 
a  request  to  you }  That  surely  is  to  be  received  as  the 
highest  sort  of  commanding,  in  that  it  doth  not  only  sig- 
nify his  will,  but  also  lays  a  fresh  obligation  upon  you  to 
observe  it,  seeing  he  is  graciously  pleased  to  deal  so 
gently  and  kindly  with  you,  in  such  a  waj"  as  that  your 
obedience  to  him  may  be  your  own  voluntary  act ;  not 
being  forced  into  it  only  by  his  peremptory  command, 
but  drawn  with  the  bands  of  love. 

Love  indeed  !  the  highest  that  can  be  shown  you. 
For,  after  all,  what  is  it  that  we  thus  pray  you  in  Christ's 
stead  1  nothing  else  but  to  be  reconciled  to  God ;  We 
pray  you,  saith  the  Apostle,  in  Christ^  stead  be  ye  reconcil- 
ed to  God.  One  would  think  there  was  no  great  need 
that  such  a  request  should  be  made  to  you,  much  less 
that  it  should  be  made  in  no  less  a  name  than  his  that 
made  and  governs  the  world.  For,  who  would  not  of 
his  own  accord  be  reconciled  to  God,  if  he  might  ?     If 


Christ's  ambassadors.  115 

men  would  but  consult  their  own  real  interest,  this  cer- 
tainly would  be  the  first  thing  they  would  all  strive  after. 
And  yet  God  knows  there  are  but  few  that  do  it :  and 
therefore,  out  of  his  infinite  love  and  mercy,  he  is  pleased 
to  send  his  ambassadors  one  after  another,  rising  up  early y 
and  sending  them  to  call  upon  men,  and  to  pray  them  in 
his  name  to  do  it.  And  he  hath  sent  me  this  day  to 
make  the  same  request  and  prayer  to  you,  even  that  ye 
would  be  reconciled  to  him. 

But  that  ye  may  fully  understand  what  is  that  /  pray 
you  in  Christ's  stead  to  do,  and  likewise  how  ye  may  do 
it  aright,  ye  must  take  notice,  that  by  nature  ye  are  all 
the  children  of  wrath,  one  as  well  as  another,  Ephes.  ii.  3. 
For  he  that  made  you,  is  angry  with  you  for  not  answer- 
ing his  end  in  making  you,  which  was  to  serve  and  glorify 
him,  in  obeying  and  observing  the  laws  which  he  for  that 
purpose  hath  set  you.  Whereas  ye  have  all  broken  his  said 
laws,  and  so  instead  of  glorifying,  ye  have  dishonored 
him  through  the  whole  course  of  your  lives,  and  therefore 
are  justly  fallen  under  his  displeasure  :  but  he,  notwith- 
standing, hath  been  graciously  pleased  to  find  out,  and 
put  you  into  a  way  oi being  reconciled  to  him;  not  by  suffer- 
ing your  sins  to  go  unpunished,  but  by  not  imputing  them 
to  you,  but  laying  the  punishments  which  were  due  unto 
you  for  them  upon  another,  even  upon  his  only-begotten 
Son,  as  the  Apostle  here  acquaints  us  from  him,  saying, 
For  he  hath  made  him  who  knew  no  sin  to  be  sin  for  us,  or  an 
offering  for  our  sin  ;  that  is,  as  the  prophet  expresseth  it, 
He  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all,  Isa.  lii.  6. 
And  his  only  begotten  Son  having  thus  borne  the  punish- 
ments which  his  justice  required  for  our  sins,  he  is  now 
ready  to  extend  his  mercy  to  us,  and  to  receive  us  again 
into  his-iavor,    upon  such    easy  terms  and   conditions, 


116  MINISTERS   OF    THE    GOSPEL, 

that  it  is  our  own  fault,  unless  we  perform  them,  so  as  to 
be  reconciled  again  to  God. 

For  all  that  is  required  on  your  parts  is  only  to  repent 
and  believe  the  Gospel^  Mark  i.  15.  This  was  all  that 
our  Lord  himself  called  upon  mankind  to  do,  when 
he  first  entered  upon  his  ministry,  and  the  substance  of 
all  that  he  taught  afterwards,  and  commanded  his  Apos- 
tles to  teach.  He  himself  saith  that  he  came  to  call  sin- 
ners to  repentance,  Luke  v.  32,  and  told  his  disciples,  that 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his 
name  among  all  nations,  Luke  xxiv.  47.  First  repent- 
ance, and  then  remission  of  sins,  but  both  in  his  name  ; 
and  among  all  nations,  that  all  might  believe  in  him  for  it. 
And  accordingly  when  the  people  desired  to  know  of  St. 
Peter  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  what  they  should 
do ;  St.  Peter  said  unto  them.  Repent,  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins.  Acts  ii.  38.  They  must  not  only  repent,  so 
as  to  forsake  their  former  superstitions  and  vices  of  all 
sorts  ;  but  they  must  also  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  so  as  to 
be  baptized  in  his  name,  and  become  his  disciples  indeed, 
believing  and  practising  all  that  he  had  taught  them,  be- 
fore they  could  be  reconciled  to  God,  so  as  to  have  their 
sins  pardoned.  This  is  that  which  Christ  himself  also 
gave  in  charge  to  his  Apostles,  at  the  same  time  that  he 
sent  them  out  as  his  ambassadors  into  the  world.  "  Go 
ye,"  saith  he,  "  and  teach,  or  rather  make,  all  nations 
disciples,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  ; 
and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alM'ays,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  20.  These  are  the  instruc- 
tions which  he  gave  them  and  their  successors,  together 


CHRIST  S    AMBASSADORS.  117 

with  their  commission  to  be  his  ambassadors  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  He  requires  them  to  go  and  call  upon  all 
nations  to  become  his  disciples^  and  to  make  them  so  by 
baptizing  them  according  to  his  institution  in  the  name  of 
the. Father  J  Son^  and  Holy  Ghost :  and  then  to  teach  them 
to  observe  not  only  some,  but  all  things  whatsoever  he  hath 
commanded^  whether  with  his  own  mouth,  or  else  by  his 
prophets,  apostles,  or  holy  men  of  God,  who  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 

These,  therefore,  being  the  orders  and  instructions 
which  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lord  and  Saviour  of  mankind, 
hath  given  to  all  whom  he  sends  and  employs  as  his  am- 
bassadors upon  earth  ;  in  his  name  and  in  his  stead  I  pray 
and  beseech  all  here  present,  to  come  up  to  the  terms 
which  he  hath  made  for  your  reconciliation  to  God  :  re- 
pent, repent  of  all  your  former  sins  :  you  cannot  but  all 
know,  every  one,  the  sins  that  he  hath  hitherto  been 
guilty  of,  and  is  still  addicted  to.  If  ye  do  but  look  into 
your  own  hearts  and  lives,  you  cannot  ^but  see  how  little 
good  and  how  much  evil  you  have  done,  since  ye  came 
into  the  world.  You  cannot  but  be  conscious  to  your- 
selves, that  you  have  often  transgressed  the  laws  and 
commandments  of  Almighty  God,  who  sent  you  hither, 
by  doing  what  ye  ought  not  to  do,  and  by  not  doing  what 
ye  ought ;  and  so  have  broken  also  that  solemn  vow  and 
promise  which  ye  made  to  God,  when  ye  were  baptized 
and  made  the  members  and  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  are 
still  apt  to  do  so  one  way  or  other  every  day. 

Now,  therefore,  I  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead  break  off 
your  sins,  all  your  sins,  by  repentance  and  amendment  of 
life.  ''  Let  not  sin  reign  any  longer  in  your  mortal  body, 
that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof,'*'  but  mortify 
the  deeds  of  the  body,  and  destroy  the  ill  habits  ye  have 


118  MINISTERS   OF   THE    GOSPEL, 

contracted  by  a  long  continuance  in  any  sort  of  vice  or 
wickedness  :  set  yourselves  in  good  earnest  upon  deny- 
ing ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly^  right- 
eously and  godly  in  this  present  world.  Take  heed  that 
your  hearts  be  never  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and 
drunkenness,  or  the  cares  of  this  life  ;  be  just  and  righteous 
in  all  your  dealings,  and  if  ye  have  wronged  any  man,  be 
sure  to  make  him  restitution.  "  As  ye  have  opportunity, 
do  good  unto  all  men,  especially  to  them  who  are  of  the 
household  of  faith  ;  and  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  unto  you,  even  so  do  ye  unto  them."  ^*  Love 
the  Lord  your  God  with  all  your  hearts,  and  with  all 
your  souls  :  pray  without  ceasing,  and  in  everything 
give  thanks  unto  him  :  sanctify  his  holy  name,  and  make 
him  your  only  fear  and  dread."  Live  with  a  constant 
dependance  upon  his  word,  and  submission  to  his  will ; 
acknowledge  him  in  all  your  ways,  honor  him  with 
all  your  substance,  serve  and  worship  him  with  reverence 
and  godly  fear  :  let  your  hearts  be  always  running  after 
him,  your  spirits  rejoicing  in  him,  and  your  whole  souls 
be  reconciled  and  inclined  to  him,  and  to  those  holy  ways 
that  he  hath  prepared  for  you  to  walk  in.  Study  all  ye 
can  to  promote  his  glory,  in  your  several  places  and  sta- 
tions in  the  world  :  and  for  that  purpose,  cease  to  do  evil, 
learn  to  do  ivell;  and  whatsoever  ye  do  in  word  or  deed,  do 
all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus :  believe  on  him,  as  your 
only  Saviour,  Mediator,  and  Advocate  with  the  Father, 
who  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  those  who  come  unto 
God  hy  him.  And  therefore  as  you  thus  truly  repent  of 
all  your  sins,  and  come  unto  God  by  him,  trust  also  and 
depend  upon  him  to  make  your  peace  with  God  ;  noth- 
ing doubting  but  that  he  will  intercede  so  efifectually  for 
you,  that  for  his  sake,  and  upon  the  account  of  his  merits 


Christ's  ambassadors.  lid 

and  mediation  for  you,  your  sins  being  all  pardoned. 
God  will  be  reconciled  to  you,  and  you  shall  be  reconciled 
to  God,  and  restored  to  his  love  and  favor  again,  as 
much  as  if  ye  had  never  offended  him  in  all  your  lives. 

Having  thus  prayed  you  in  Christ's  stead,  and  for  the 
most  part  in  his  very  words,  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  it 
may  seem  needless  to  use  any  arguments  to  persuade 
you  to  it  ;  for  ye  will  not  hearken  to  what  Christ  himself 
desires  of  you,  much  less  will  you  regard  anything  that 
I  can  say  unto  you.  But  in  this  also  I  shall  not  speak 
in  my  own  name,  but  his  ;  and  in  his  stead  pray  you  to 
consider,  first,  who  it  is  that  desires  this  of  you :  not  I, 
your  fellow-worm,  but  Christ  himself,  Christ  the  eternal 
Son  of  God,  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,  the  Lord 
God  Almighty :  Christy  who  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  to  God :  and  yet  for 
your  sakes  made  himself  of  no  reputation^  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant ;  Christ,  who  being  thus  found 
in  fashion  as  a  man^  really  and  truly  man  as  well  as  God, 
became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross ; 
and  all  to  appease  the  wrath  of  God,  and  reconcile  him 
to  you :  Christ,  who  is  now  at  the  right-hand  of  the 
Father,  and  is  made  head  over  all  things  for  the  Church, 
that  nothing  may  hinder  their  reconciliation  to  God,  who 
apply  themselves  to  him,  and  do  what  he  requires  in 
order  to  it.  This  is  that  Christ,  who  requires  you  to  do 
what  ye  have  now  heard :  and  will  ye  not  do  anything 
ye  can  for  him,  who  hath  done  and  suffered  so  much  for 
you  ?  For  him  who  loved  you  so  as  to  lay  down  his 
own  life  for  you  ?  Surely  you  can  never  deny  him  any- 
thing, much  less  when  he  desires  nothing  of  you,  but 
only  that  ye  would  be  reconciled  to  God.  This  is  the 
only  end  of  all  he  did  for  mankind  upon  earth,  the  end  of 


120  MINISTERS  OF   THE    GOSPEL, 

all  that  he  is  now  doing  in  heaven,  and  the  end  of  his 
sending  me  at  this  time  to  solicit  and  pray  you  in  his 
stead  to  do  it :  and  if  ye  still  stand  out,  and  refuse  to 
come  in  upon  his  most  gracious  advice  and  request, 
what  favor  can  ye  ever  expect  from  him  ?  None,  cer- 
tainly ;  he  will  be  so  far  from  showing  you  any  kindness, 
so  far  from  saving  you  from  your  sins,  and  from  the  wrath 
of  God,  that  he  hath  told  you  beforehand  what  he  will 
say  to  you;  Because  I  have  called^  and  ye  refused;  I 
have  stretched  out  my  hand  and  no  man  regarded;  hut  ye 
have  set  at  naught  all  my  counsel^  and  would  none  of  my 
reproof:  I  also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity^  I  icill  mock 
when  your  fear  comet  h,  Pro  v.  i.  24,  25,  26. 

And  your  calamity  will  most  certainly  come  ere  long, 
whether  ye  fear  it  or  no  :  greater  calamity  than  ye  are 
aware  of,  greater  than  ye  can  yet  imagine.  For  con- 
sider, in  the  next  place,  that  until  ye  are  reconciled  to 
God,  as  you  are  enemies  to  him,  so  he  is  an  enemy  to 
you  :  he  that  made  you  is  angry  with  you,  he  is  incensed 
against  you.  And  who  can  imagine  the  dismal  effects 
and  consequence  of  his  displeasure  ?  If  his  wrath  be 
kindled^  yea,  hut  a  little,  who  is  able  to  stand  before  it  ? 
The  thoughts  of  it  are  sufficient  to  make  the  stoutest 
heart  among  us  tremble  :  to  have  Jehovah,  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  the  supreme  Governor  of  the  world,  to  have  him 
angry  with  us,  who  can  think  of  it  without  horror  and 
amazement }  Who  then  can  describe  the  deplorable 
condition  which  they  are  in,  that  lie  under  his  displea- 
sure .'*  For  my  part,  I  am  so  far  from  being  able  to  give 
you  a  description,  that  I  dread  the  very  thoughts  of  it  ; 
only  we  know  in  general,  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  living  God ;  that  all  that  he  con- 
tinues to  be  angry  at,  will  most  certainly  do  so,  and  by 


Christ's  ambassadors.  121 

consequence  be  as  miserable  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to 
be  :  for  so  long  as  he  who  governs  all  things  in  the  world 
is  angry  with  you,  there  is  nothing  in  it  can  do  you  good, 
nothing  but  what  will  contribute  some  way  or  other  to 
your  ruin  and  destruction.  All  things  are  cursed  to  you, 
those  also  which  you  think  to  be  blessings  ;  and  all  the 
judgments  that  God  hath  threatened  in  his  word  against 
sinners,  seeing  he  is  angry  with  you,  stand  ready 
every  moment  to  fall  upon  you.  And  if  he  should  once 
open  your  eyes,  to  see  him  frowning  upon  you,  you 
would  not  be  able  to  endure  yourselves,  but  would  wish, 
with  all  your  souls,  you  could  cease  to  be,  or  be  anything 
rather  than  what  you  are,  the  vessels  of  ivrath  fitted  for  de- 
struction :  but  all  in  vain.  All  the  world  cannot  help 
you,  unless  he  that  made  and  governs  it  be  reconciled  to 
you ;  but  ye  must  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruc- 
tion from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power,  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints, 
and  admired  in  all  them  that  believe  in  that  day  :  2  Thess. 
i.  9,  10.  When  ye  will  be  cast  into  hell-fire,  where 
the  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched,  Mark 
ix.  44. 

If  these  things  were  laid  to  your  hearts  as  they  ought 
to  be,  they  would  make  you  very  restless  and  uneasy, 
until  you  have  made  your  peace  with  God,  and  done  all 
that  ye  have  heard  to  be  required  in  order  to  your  recon- 
ciliation to  him.  And  how  happy  would  you  then  be  } 
as  happy  in  the  love  and  favor  of  God,  as  the  other  are 
miserable  under  his  wrath  and  fury.  For  when  you  are 
at  peace  with  God,  all  things  else  will  be  at  peace  with 
you  ;  he  that  made  them,  will  make  them  to  be  so  : 
you  shall  be  in  league  with  the  stones  of  the  field,  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  ai  peace  with  you,  Job  v.  23. 


122  MINISTERS    OF   THE    GOSPEL, 

Yeaj  when  a  man's  ways  please  the  Lord^  he  maketh  his 
enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him,  Prov.  xvi.  7.  And  not 
only  they,  but  all  things  else  shall  work  together  for  your 
good,  so  long  as  ye  continue  in  his  favor,  who  governs 
and  disposeth  of  all  things  as  he  pleaseth.  For  when  ye 
are  reconciled  to  him,  he  will  look  upon  you  as  his  friends, 
his  favorites,  his  children,  and  will  deal  accordingly 
with  you.  He  will  take  you  into  his  own  particular 
care  and  conduct.  He  will  hide  you  under  his  wings, 
that  no  evil  may  come  near  to  hurt  you.  He  will  bless 
and  sanctify  all  occurrences  to  you.  He  will  provide  all 
things  necessary,  that  as  you  have  nothing  that  is  evil,  so 
ye  may  want  nothing  that  is  good  for  you.  He  will 
cause  the  light  of  his  countenance  to  shine  upon  you,  and 
manifest  his  special  love  and  favor  to  you,  that  you 
may  see  him  smiling  upon  you,  rejoicing  over  you,  and 
delighting  to  do  you  good,  in  which  blessed  sight  our 
happiness  chiefly  consisted.  He  will  guide  you  by  his 
counsel,  assist  you  by  his  grace,  protect  you  by  his 
power,  enlighten,  quicken,  actuate,  support,  and  strength- 
en you  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  you  may  pass  through  all 
the  changes  and  chances  of  this  mortal  life,  so  as  to  come 
at  last  to  live  with  him  and  his  holy  angels,  in  the  perfect 
vision  and  fruition  of  his  eternal  Godhead. 

But  what  do  I  mean,  to  offer  at  describing  the  happi- 
ness of  those  who  are  reconciled  to  God  ?  when  to  be  in 
his  favor  is  itself  the  greatest  happiness  that  a  creature 
is  capable  of,  and  such  as  none  can  apprehend  but  they 
who  have  it.  Yet  this  is  that  happiness  which  the  eter- 
nal Son  of  God  hath  purchased  for  mankind,  and  sends 
his  ambassadors  about  to  invite  them  to  it.  It  is  in  his 
name  I  come  to  all  that  are  present  at  this  time,  and  pray 
you  in  his  stead,  be  ye  all  now  reconciled  unto  God ;  now 


CHRIST  S    AMBASSADORS.  123 

while  ye  may.  Blessed  be  God,  ye  all  may  as  yet  be 
reconciled  to  him,  if  ye  will  but  take  the  course  for  it, 
which  hath  been  now  described  to  you  out  of  his  holy 
word  :  otherwise,  he  would  not  have  sent  me  to  call  up- 
on you,  nor  brought  you  hither  to  be  called  upon  to  do 
it ;  but  if  ye  turn  your  backs,  and  refuse  or  neglect  to 
hearken  to  him  now,  ye  know  not  whether  he  will  ever 
call  upon  you  any  more.  Wherefore  I  pray  you  again 
in  his  steady  put  off  this  great  work  no  longer,  but  begin  it 
now.  For  why  will  ye  die  ?  Why  will  ye  destroy  your- 
selves, when  ye  need  not '?  Why  will  ye  continue  any 
longer  under  the  displeasure  of  Almighty  God,  when  ye 
may  be  restored  to  his  favor,  if  ye  will  but  seek  it }  But 
then  you  must  seek  it  in  his  own  way,  in  the  constant 
use  of  the  means  which  he  hath  appointed,  whereby  to 
obtain  his  grace  and  assistance  to  do  what  is  required  of 
you.  What  the}'-  are,  ye  all  know  ;  and  therefore  I  need 
say  no  more-  But  as  I  have  now  prayed  you  in  Christ^s 
stead  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  so  in  his  name  I  pray  God 
to  be  reconciled  to  you,  and  to  open  your  eyes  that  ye  may 
see  the  things  that  belong  to  your  everlasting  peace,  before 
they  be  hid  from  you. 


SERMON    V. 


A  FORM  OF  SOUND  WORDS  TO  BE  USED  BY  MINISTERS. 


2  Timothy  i.  13. 

Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me,  in  faith  and 
love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Although  we  are  apt  to  wonder  most  at  such  things 
as  seldom  happen  in  the  world,  yet  certainly  the  most 
common  and  obvious  things  that  be,  if  duly  considered, 
deserve  as  much,  if  not  much  more,  to  be  admired  by  us. 
What  more  common  to  all  mankind^and  yet  what  more 
strange  and  wonderful,  than  that  by  certain  sounds  in  the 
air,  or  by  certain  characters  upon  solid  bodies,  we  should 
be  able  to  discover  our  thoughts  to  one  another  ?  Thoughts, 
we  know,  '^are  the  imminent  acts  of  the  soul,  a  spiritual 
being,  and  so  not  capable  of  any  external  representations  ; 
and  yet  for  all  that,  we  can  make  such  sounds  and  figures 
utter  such  words,  and  write  such  letters,  from  whence 
other  persons  may  understand  what  we  think  as  well  as 
we  ourselves.  And  this  indeed  is  the  foundation  of  all 
human  society  and  conversation  :  for  by  this  means  we 
can  communicate  our  hopes  and  fears,  our  joys  and  griefs, 
our  desires  and  abhorrences,  all  our  sentiments  and  no- 
tions, to  one  another  ;  yea,  by  this  means  we  can  con- 
verse with  the  ancients,  and  know  what  they  thought, 
tbat  lived  above  a  thousand  years  ago.  Of  so  great  use 
are  words,  whether  spoken  or  written,  to  mankind. 


A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS.  125 

And  yet,  as  nothing  may  be  more  easily,  so  nothing 
hath  been  more  grossly  abused  than  they  ;  for  though  we 
can  frame  ideas  and  notions  of  things  in  our  minds,  with- 
out any  relation  unto  or  dependence  upon  words,  yet 
having  been  all  along  accustomed  to  express  our  thoughts 
by  them,  we  are  apt  to  be  more  intent  upon  words,  than 
we  are 'upon  things  themselves  ;  and  so  to  accommodate 
and  suit  our  notions  to  words,  rather  than  words  unto  our 
notions.  So  that  whatsoever  words  we  commonly  use, 
whereby  to  express  such  or  such  things,  our  apprehen- 
sions of  these  things  are  according  to  the  words  whereby 
we  are  wont  to  express  them  :  if  they  be  false,  our  ap- 
prehensions being  regulated  by  them  cannot  possibly  be 
true  ;  and  if  they  be  true,  and  rightly  understood  by  us, 
our  apprehensions  cannot  possibly  be  false,  being  bound 
up,  as  it  were,  and  confined  within  the  sense  and  mean- 
ing of  such  words.  But  it  being  very  hard  and  difficult 
to  find  out  fit  and  proper  words  in  any  language,  where- 
by fully  and  distinctly  to  express  the  nature  of  things, 
and  our  own  ideas  of  them  ;  most  men,  to  save  them- 
selves the  labor  of  a  further  search,  take  up  with  the 
first  they  meet  with,  especially  if  they  be  but  generally 
received :  which  if  they  happen  to  be  false,  as  they  fre- 
quently are,  they  infallibly  lead  them  into  false  concep- 
tions and  erroneous  opinions  of  the  things  themselves. 
And  therefore  it  cannot  but  highly  concern  us  all  to  be 
very  cautious  and  wary  in  the  choice  of  our  words,  espe- 
cially in  divinity,  where  every  mistake  is  dangerous,  and 
many  damnable. 

This  therefore  being  a  matter  of  great  importance, 
much  greater  than  is  commonly  thought  of,  it  may  justly 
challenge  to  be  the  subject  of  our  present  discourse  :  for 
which  end  I  have  chosen  these  words  of  St.  Paul  to  Tim«- 


126  A    FORM    OF   SOUND    WORDS 

thy,  Holdfast  the  form  of  sound  words  which  thou  hast 
heard  of  me,  in  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Where  we  may  observe  three  things : 

First,  That  some  time  before  the  writing  of  this  Epis- 
tle, St.  Paul  had  given  to  Timothy  a  form  of  sound  words, 
though  not  in  writing,  yet  by  word  of  mouth.  This  is 
plain,  in  that  he  saith,  a  form  of  sound  ivords  which  thou 
hast  heard  of  me.  Timothy  was  now  ordained  bishop  of 
Ephesus,  the  metropolis  of  all  Asia  proconsularis,  whither 
the  Apostle  sent  him  to  preach  and  propagate  the  Gos- 
pel :  and  that  he  might  rightly  understand  the  principles 
of  that  religion  which  he  was  to  preach,  and  cause  others 
to  do  so  too,  the  Apostle  puts  words  into  his  mouth,  such 
as  would  clearly  and  properly  express  the  great  truths, 
which  he  was  mostly  to  insist  upon  ;  which  he  therefore 
calls  -iYictlvovTag  loyovg,  sound  words,  such  as  would 
make  his  hearers  to  be  sancB  mentis,  men  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  right  notions  in  the  mysteries  of  religion.  And 
whosoever  doth  not  consent  to  those  sound  and  whole- 
some words,  the  same  Apostle  elsewhere  saith,  that  such 
a  one  is  a  fool,  knowing  nothing  alia,  voam- :  but  he  is 
sick,  as  the  word  signifies  ;  or,  as  our  translation  hath  it? 
he  doats  about  questions  and  strifes  of  words,  1  Tim.  vi.  4. 
As  if  a  malignant  fever  had  affected  his  brain,  distracted 
his  mind,  and  made  him  delirious,  so  as  to  rave  and  talk 
nonsense.  For  so  all  do  that  use  any  other  than  right 
and  proper  words  in  the  mysteries  of  our  religion  ;  what- 
soever they  say  is  nonsense,  if  not  downright  blasphemy. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  Apostle  so  often  makes  mention  of 
sound  doctrine,  in  opposition  to  the  extravagant  and  cor- 
rupt opinions  which  false  teachers,  even  in  those  days, 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  their  ignorant  and  unwary  dis- 
ciples     And  lest  Timothy,  through  any  mistake  or  inad- 


TO    BE    USED    BY   MINISTERS.  127 

vertency,  should  fall  himself,  or  lead  others  into  the  same 
errors,  St.  Paul,  before  he  sent  him  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
furnished  him  with  such  a  form  of  sound  words^  which  if 
he  did  but  constantly  observe,  he  could  neither  be  de- 
ceived nor  deceive. 

Secondly,  We  may  observe,  that  this  form  of  sound 
words  was  both  in  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ; 
that  is,  both  concerning  the  doctrine  and  the  discipline, 
what  we  are  to  believe  and  what  to  do,  in  obedience  to 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  For  as  faith  comprehends  the  one, 
so  doth  love  the  other  ;  and  St.  Paul  had  given  Timothy 
a  form  of  sound  words  in  both :  but  first  in  faith,  and  then 
in  love,  because  it  is  faith  that  works  by  love  ;  and  he 
that  doth  not  rightly  believe,  can  never  truly  obey  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  as  he  ought  to  do.  But  in  one  as  well 
as  the  other,  St.  Paul  instructed  Timothy  how  to  express 
himself,  and  by  that  means  hath  admonished  us  also  to 
be  very  careful  how  to  speak,  what  words  we  use,  whe- 
ther in  theoretical  or  practical  divinity,  concerning  either 
faith  or  manners. 

Lastly,  St.  Paul  did  not  think  it  enough  to  give  Timo- 
thy a  form  of  sound  words,  but  he  charged  him  to  hold  it 
fast,  to  keep  it,  to  use  no  other  words,  but  such  as  ex- 
actly agreed  with  those  which  he  had  taught  him.  The 
Greek  words  are  {moTiTtcoacv  M^s  tiov  ■byiai^vdvTMv  Xdycav, 
where  the  word  inoTvnoiaig  is  variously  rendered  by  in- 
terpreters. I  shall  not  trouble  you  with  any  critical  ob- 
servations about  it ;  but  only  observe  in  general,  that  it 
is  sometimes  used  for  a  pattern  or  example,  1  Tim.  i.  16, 
sometimes  for  a  short  description,  or  delineation,  or  sum- 
mary, or  compendium.  Thus  Clemens  Alexandrinus 
wrote  a  book,  which  he  called  "'TTtoivTiMuig,  which  Pho- 
tius  saith  was  a  brief  exposition  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 


128  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

tament  j  out  of  which  the  'Enno^ai  itt  tcop  Geodorov  at 
the  end  of  his  Works,  I  suppose,  were  taken.  And  in 
this  sense,  the  word  here  used  intimates  as  if  St.  Paul 
had  given  Timothy,  if  not  that  which  we  call  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed,  yet  some  silch-like  form  of  sound  words,  con- 
taining the  sum  and  substance  of  what  he  was  to  believe 
and  preach. 

But  the  Apostle  lays  no  great  stress  upon  that  word. 
For  it  follows,  hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  5)v  nag^ 
%[iov  r^Kovaag,  5)v  not  ^?,  which  icords,  not  which  form, 
thou  hast  heard  of  me.  So  that  it  is  not  so  much  the 
form,  as  the  words  themselves,  which  the  Apostle  would 
have  him  to  hold  fast,  to  have  them  continually  in  his 
mind,  and  in  his  mouth  too,  whensoever  he  speaks  of 
those  divine  truths,  which  are  revealed  to  us  in  the 
Gospel. 

What  these  sound  words  were,  which  Timothy  heard 
of  St.  Paul,  we  know  not  ;  but  this  we  know,  that  it 
doth  as  much  concern  us  to  use  sound  words  in  matters  of 
divinity,  as  it  did  him.  And  therefore  having  not  heard 
them  at  St.  Paul's  own  mouth,  as  he  did,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  if  we  consider  of  the  most  certain  way  to  find  them 
out,  that  we  may  know  how  to  express  ourselves  in  all 
the  articles  of  our  Christian  faith  by  such  words  as  the 
Apostle  here  calls  sound  and  icholesome,  such  as  will  give 
us  and  those  we  speak  to  occasion  to  frame  right  notions 
and  conceptions  of  those  things  which  belong  to  our  ever- 
lasting peace. 

For  this  end,  therefore,  I  shall  in  the  first  place  lay 
down  this  as  a  most  certain  and  undeniable  truth,  that 
the  Scriptures,  as  being  indicted  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  in 
the  languages  wherein  they  were  first  written,  do  contain 
the  best  and  soundest  words  that  possibly  could  be  invent- 


TO    BE    USED    BY  MINISTERS.  129 

ed,  whereby  to  express  such  truths  as  are  necessary  for 
mankind  to  beheve  or  know.  For  they  being  designed 
on  purpose  to  be  the  rule  both  of  our  faith  and  manners, 
and  contrived  for  that  end  by  infinite  wisdom  and  good- 
ness itself :  it  cannot  be  imagined  but  that  everything 
is^here  expressed  m  the  most  plain  and  perspicuous, 
the  most  fit  and  proper,  the  most  full  and  significant  words 
that  could  be  desired  of  Almighty  God,  whereby  to 
discover  himself  and  his  will  to  our  capacities  :  to  which 
of  his  infinite  mercy  he  is  pleased  to  condescend,  in  all 
these  books,  which  are  acknowledged  by  all  Christians  to 
be  written  by  men  inspired,  moved,  assisted,  and  directed 
in  what  they  wrote,  by  the  Spirit  of  God  himself.  By 
which  means  the  whole  Scripture  is  indeed  but  as  one 
continued /orwi  of  sound  words  ;  which  if  we  do  but  hold 
fast  and  understand  aright,  we  can  neither  fall  either  into 
heresy  nor  schism.  And  whatsoever  words  we  use  in  the 
mysteries  of  our  religion,  are  either  true  or  false,  sound 
or  corrupt,  as  they  do  or  do  not  agree  with  those  which 
are  used  in  that  holy  writ. 

But  in  the  next  place,  we  must  consider  withal,  that 
notwithstanding  the  extraordinary  clearness  and  propriety 
of  speech,  whereby  divine  truths  are  there  revealed  to  us, 
yet  there  never  was  any  error,  heresy,  or  schism  in  the 
Church,  but  what  was  pretended  by  the  authors  and 
abettors  of  it  to  be  grounded  upon  Scripture.  In  this  all 
heretics,  Greek  and  Latin,  old  and  new,  agree.  They  all 
plead  Scripture  for  what  they  say  ;  and  each  one  pre- 
tends that  his  opinion,  be  it  ever  so  absurd  and  ridicu- 
lous, is  consonant  to  the  words  there  used :  which  though 
it  may  seem  strange  at  first  sight,  we  shall  not  much 
wonder  at,  if  we  do  but  consider  three  things. 

First,  that  most  men,  not  understanding  the  original 


130  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

languages,  read  and  consult  the  Scriptures  no  otherwise 
than  in  some  translation,  which  they  notwithstanding  look 
upon  as  the  word  of  God  ;  and  if  there  be  any  word  in 
that  translation  that  favors  any  erroneous  opinion,  they 
presently  conclude  that  the  Scriptures  do  so  too,  though 
they  be  as  much  against  it  as  that  translation  is  for  it. 
As  for  example  ;  in  the  first  promulgation  of  the  Gospel 
to  mankind.  Gen.  iii.  15.  God  said  to  the  serpent  that 
beguiled  our  first  parents.  And  I  will  put  enmity  between 
thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed 
l^kSn  '\2W  Kin  :  it,  that  is,  the  seed  of  the  woman,  which  is 
Christ,  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel ; 
as  our  translation  rightly  expounds  it.  But  the  vulgar 
Latin  renders  it.  Ipsa  conteret  caput  taum,  as  if  a  woman 
should  do  it ;  which  the  Papists  interpreting  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  ascribe  to  her  this  great  victory  and  triumph  over 
sin  and  Satan  ;  and  are  taught  to  say  in  their  addresses  to 
her.  Adore  et  benedico  sanctissimos  pedes  tuos,  quibiis  anti- 
qui  serpentis  caput  calcasti.  There  are  many  other  absurd 
opinions  as  well  as  practices  in  that  Church,  which  this 
one  word  hath  been  the  occasion  of. 

Thus,  where  the  Apostle,  speaking  of  marriage,  saith, 
t6  fivaTi\Qiop  TouTO  ixiya  iailv^  the  vulgar  Latin  again 
translates  it,  sucramentum  hoc  magnum  est ;  from  whence 
they  conclude  matrimony  to  be  a  sacrament,  such  a  one 
as  baptism,  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Thus  also  immediately  before  his  ascension,  our  blessed 
Lord  said  to  his  Apostles,  IIoQsvdiPTsg  olv  pad/jTsiaais 
TtdvTa  Tdc  Wptj,  ^ami'QovTsg  a^roijg,  which  the  vulgar  Latin 
renders,  Euntes  ergo  docete  omnes  gentes,  baptizantes  eos  ; 
which  most  of  our  modern  European  versions  follow. 
And  from  hence  I  verily  believe  the  error  of  the  Anabap- 
tists and  Antiprpdobaptists  took  its  first  rise.     For,  appre- 


TO    BE    USED    BY   MINISTERS.  131 

bending  our  Saviour  to  say,  according  to  this  translation, 
Go  ye  and  teach  all  nations^  and  then  baptize  them ;  they 
presently  inferred,  that  persons  ought  first  to  be  taught, 
and  then  baptized  ;  and,  by  consequence,  that  children 
not  being  capable  of  the  fermer,  cannot  be  so  of  the  latter. 
But  if  they  had  understood  and  consulted  the  original, 
they  would  have  found  no  such  thing  ;  for  fiadijTB^o)  never 
signifies  to  teach,  but  only  to  make  a  disciple.  And  so 
the  Syriac  and  other  oriental  translations  constantly  ren- 
der the  word.  And  therefore  it  is  observable,  that  in  all 
the  eastern  churches  this  heresy  was  never  heard  of,  nor 
anywhere  else,  but  only  in  such  places  where  the  vulgar 
Latin  prevailed :  which  plainly  shows,  that  it  was  ground- 
ed at  first  only  upon  that  false  translation  of  the  word 
(ladiiTEiaaxe  by  docete ;  though  afterwards  they  endea- 
vored to  prove  it  from  other  places  of  Scripture,  either 
translated,  or  at  least  falsely  understood,  as  this  is.  Many 
instances  of  this  nature  might  be  produced,  to  show  how 
false  translations  of  the  Scriptures  have  given  the  first 
occasion  to  draw  such  opinions  from  them,  which  are  di- 
rectly contrary  to  what  is  asserted  in  them.  And  when 
men  have  once  espoused  an  opinion,  whether  it  be  true 
or  false,  they  look  upon  themselves  as  obliged  to  main- 
tain it. 

Secondly,  although  there  be  many,  especially  of  late 
years,  who  are  able  to  read  and  understand  much  of  the 
original  text,  yet  they  also  are  to  seek  for  the  true  mean- 
ing of  many  places.  For  besides  the  ayral  Xsyd/ueva, 
many  other  words  and  phrases  frequently  occur,  which 
cannot  be  fully  understood,  except  we  first  know  the  rites 
and  customs  of  the  Jewish  Church,  consider  the  context 
and  scope  of  the  places  where  such  words  are  used,  com- 
pare one  place  with  another,  and  observe  many  other  rules 


132  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

requisite  to  the  right  interpretation  of  those  holy  oracles  ; 
which  most  men,  by  reason  of  their  ignorance  and  sloth, 
are  either  unable  or  unwilling  to  do  ;  and  therefore  are 
apt  to  take  up  with  the  first  sense  that  offers  itself,  with- 
out giving  themselves  the  troubte  of  a  farther  search. 

Thus  Clemens  Alexandrinus  observes  of  the  heretics 
in  his  days,  that  they  would  quote  Scripture  indeed,  but 
not  in  the  sense  which  the  context  required,  but  would 
take  here  and  there  a  word,  and  apply  it  to  their  own 
private  opinions  ;  not  considering  what  is  signified  by  it, 
aXV  aiirrj  ipdfi  CiTtoxQibixEvov  zri  U^sv^  but  abusing  the  na- 
ked word  itself,  by  putting  what  sense  they  please  upon 
it.  The  same  may  be  observed  of  many  in  our  days,  who 
getting  a  Scripture  word  by  the  end,  away  they  run  with 
it,  and  never  leave  it,  till  they  have  forced  some  errone- 
ous opinion  or  other  from  it :  which  therefore  cannot  be 
imputed  to  any  obscurity  or  uncertainty  in  the  Scriptures 
themselves,  but  to  the  darkness  of  men's  minds,  and  the 
perverseness  of  their  wills,  that  they  either  cannot  or  will 
not  take  the  pains  to  understand  what  is  clearly  revealed 
in  them.  And  to  this  head  most  of  the  ancient  and  mo- 
dern heresies  may  be  referred. 

Lastly,  although  some  do  understand  the  words  where- 
by it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God  to  reveal  himself  and 
his  pleasure  to  us,  yet  the  things  themselves  signified  by 
those  words  are  many  of  them  so  high,  mysterious,  and 
divine,  that  their  finite  and  corrupt  apprehensions  are  not 
able  to  reach  them.  And  therefore,  disdaining  to  believe 
what  they  cannot  comprehend,  they  detort  those  words 
from  their  true  and  proper,  to  such  a  sense  as  will  suit 
with  their  understandings.  Seeing  they  cannot  appre- 
hend so  much  as  the  words  signify,  they  will  make  the 
words  sisfnify  no  more  than  they  can  apprehend. 


TO    BK    USED    BY    MINISTERS.  133 

This  St.  Peter  observed  in  his  days  ;  where,  speaking 
of  St.  Paul,  he  saith,  "  As  also  in  all  his  Epistles,  speak-^ 
ing  in  them  of  these  things :  in  which  are  some  things 
hard  to  be  understood,  which  they  that  are  unlearned  and 
unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  also  the  other  Scriptures,  to 
their  own  destruction,"  2  Pet.  iii.  16  ;  where  he  plainly 
speaks,  not  of  the  words,  but  things  themselves  ;  for  it 
is  not  1^  alg^  in  which  Epistles,  but  ^r  olg^  amongst  which 
things  in  those  Epistles,  there  are  dvav6i]xa  nvuy  some 
things  hard  to  be  understood. 

Such  are  those  great  mysteries  of  the  most  blessed 
Trinity,  the  divinity  and  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  like  ;  which  are  as  plainly  revealed  in  Scripture, 
as  things  of  that  nature  could  be  ;  and  yet  many  have  had 
the  impudence  to  deny  them,  only  upon  that  account,  be- 
cause their  reasons  forsooth  were  not  able  to  comprehend 
them.  These  are  they  who,  Lucifer-like,  aspire  to  be 
like  God  himself ;  "  who  would  measure  the  water  in  the 
hollow  of  their  hands,  and  mete  out  the  heavens  with  a 
span  ;  who  would  comprehend  the  dust  of  the  earth  in  a 
measure,  weigh  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in 
a  balance  ;"  nay,  which  is  worse,  they  would  measure 
heaven  by  earth,  eternity  by  time,  God  by  themselves  ; 
and  believe  nothing  of  his  infinite,  eternal,  incomprehen- 
sible essence,  but  what  they  can  comprehend  within  the 
narrow  compass  of  their  own  reason,  although  God  him- 
self hath  been  pleased  to  affirm  it :  as  if  the  testimony  of 
God  was  not  a  stronger  ground  whereupon  to  build  our 
most  holy  faith,  than  human  reason  ;  which  certainly 
hath  nothing  else  to  do  in  such  mysteries,  but  to  search 
into  the  truth  of  the  divine  revelation  ;  which  being  either 
supposed  or  proved,  we  have  all  the  reason  in  the 
world  to  believe  what  is  so  revealed,  wht  ther  we  under- 


134  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

stand  it  or  no.  But  these  great  masters  of  reason  a  1/3 
so  little  of  that  which  they  so  much  pretend  to,  as  not  to 
believe  this  ;  and  therefore  to  make  the  Scriptures  to 
speak  nothing  but  what  they  can  comprehend,  that  is, 
nothing  but  what  themselves  please,  they  rack  every 
word,  particle,  and  sentence,  transpose  the  commas,  alter 
the  accents,  violate  all  the  rules  of  true  construction  ; 
and  then  it  is  no  wonder  if  they  force  the  Scriptures  to 
say,  not  what  God,  but  what  themselves,  would  have 
them.  And  by  this  means  it  is,  that  the  most  pernicious 
and  blasphemous  of  all  heresies  were  first  broached; 
which  whosoever  swallow  down,  are  certain  to  be  poison- 
ed and  undone  for  ever. 

Hence  therefore  we  may  observe,  how  that  although 
the  Scriptures  contain  none  but  sound  and  wholesome 
words,  such  as  Timothy  heard  of  St.  Paul  ;  yet  such  is 
the  weakness  of  men's  understandings,  such  the  corrup- 
tion of  their  judgments,  such  the  perverseness  of  their 
wills,  the  disorder  ot  their  affections,  and  the  pravity  of 
their  whole  souls,  that  they  extract  poison  from  that 
which  was  intended  for  their  food,  draw  error  out  of 
truth,  heresy  out  of  the  Scriptures  themselves,  so  as  to 
learn  to  blaspheme  God  in  his  own  words.  But  what 
then  shall  we  do  in  this  case  1  How  can  we  be  ever 
certain  that  the  words  we  use  in  matters  of  religion  be 
sound,  and  by  consequence  our  opinions  orthodox,  and 
our  sentiments  of  God  and  those  eternal  truths  which  he 
hath  revealed  to  us,  such  as  he  himself  would  have  them  ? 
Why  surely  for  this  end  it  is  necessary,  that  we  indulge 
not  our  own  fancies,  nor  idolize  our  own  private  opinions, 
but  hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words  delivered  to  us  in 
the  holy  Scriptures,  in  that  sense  which  the  catholic 
('hurch  in  all  ages  hath  put  upon  them. 


TO    BE    USED    BY    MINISTERS.  135 

For  the  eternal  Son  of  God  having  with  his  own  blood 
purchased  to  himself  an  universal  Church,  we  cannot 
doubt  but  that  he  takes  sure  care  of  it,  that,  according  to 
his  promise,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against  it. 
For  which  end,  he,  the  head  of  this  mystical  body,  doth 
not  only  defend  and  protect  it  by  his  almighty  power,  but 
he  so  acts,  guides,  directs,  and  governs  it  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  that  though  errors  and  heresies  may  sometimes 
disease  and  trouble  some  parts  of  it,  yet  they  can  never 
infect  the  whole  ;  but  that  is  still  kept  sound  and  entire, 
notwi  hstanding  all  the  power  and  malice  of  men  or  devils 
against  it.  So  that,  if  we  consider  the  universal  Church, 
or  congregation  of  faithful  people,  as  in  all  ages  dispersed 
over  the  whole  world ;  we  may  easily  conclude,  that  the 
greatest  part,  from  which  the  whole  must  be  denominated, 
was  always  in  the  right ;  which  the  ancient  Fathers  were 
so  fully  persuaded  of,  that  although  the  word  nadoXixbg 
properly  signifies  universal,  yet^they  commonly  used  it  in 
the  same  sense  as  we  do  the  word  orthodox,  as  opposed 
to  an  heretic  ;  calling  an  orthodox  man  a  catholic,  that 
is,  a  son  of  the  catholic  Church  ;  as  taking  it  for  granted, 
that  they,  and  only  they,  which  constantly  adhere  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  catholic  or  universal  Church,  are  truly 
orthodox  ;  v/hich  they  could  not  do,  unless  they  had  be- 
lieved the  catholic  Church  to  be  so.  And  besides  that, 
it  is  part  of  our  very  creed,  that  the  catholic  Church  is 
holy  ;  which  she  could  not  be  except  free  from  heresy, 
as  directly  opposite  to  true  holiness. 

He  therefore  that  would  be  sure  not  to  fall  into  dam- 
nable errors,  must  be  sure  also  to  continue  firm  and  stead- 
fast to  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  Church,  as  being 
grounded  upon  the  Scriptures  rightly  understood  :  for  so 
everything  is  that  she  hath  taught  us.     For  the  catholic 


136  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

Church  never  undertook,  as  the  Romish  hath  done,  to 
coin  any  new  doctrines  of  her  own  head :  no,  she  always 
took  the  Scriptures  for  the  only  standard  of  truth  ;  and 
hath  accordingly  delivered  her  sense  of  them  in  such 
words  as  she  judged  to  agree  exactly  with  those  which 
are  there  used. 

And  therefore  it  is  observable,  that  the  Church  never 
undertook  publicly  to  determine  any  truth,  until  it  was 
first  denied ;  nor  to  interpret  the  Scriptures,  until  they 
were  first  perverted.  If  no  heretics  had  ever  risen  up 
in  the  Church,  the  Church  had  never  held  any  General 
Councils  ;  and  if  the  Scripture-words  and  phrases  had  not 
been  first  abused,  and  wrested  to  a  wrong  and  contrary 
sense  to  what  they  were  intended,  she  had  never  invent- 
ed other  words  to  explain  them.  But  when  the  enemy 
had  sown  tares  in  the  Lord's  field,  the  Church  could  not 
but  endeavor  to  root  them  out,  or  at  least  to  keep  them 
from  spreading  any  further  :  when  wicked  men  had  offer- 
ed violence  to  the  word  of  God,  his  spouse  could  do  no 
less  than  defend  it,  and  declare  the  true  sense  and  mean- 
ing of  it  to  her  children. 

As  for  example,  that  great  fundamental  article  of 
our  Christian  faith,  upon  which  not  only  our  religion, 
but  our  eternal  salvation,  depends, — the  divinity  of  our 
blessed  Saviour, — is  so  plainly,  so  fully,  so  frequently  as- 
serted in  holy  writ,  that  the  Church  did  for  many  years 
together  believe,  acknowledge,  and  preach  it,  only  in 
Scripture  words,  and  needed  not  as  yet  any  other  words 
whereby  to  express  it.  But  when  it  was  once  denied, 
and  the  Scripture  words  so  far  abused,  as  that  a  quite 
contrary  sense  M-as  extorted  from  them,  then  it  was  time 
for  the  cathohc  Church  to  appear  in  its  behalf:  and  be- 
ing accordingly  assembled  in  a  General  Council  at  Nice, 


TO    BE    USED    BY    MINISTERS-  187 

she  there  determined,  that  the  Son  is  oizooiuatos  to  TIcctqI, 
of  the  same  substance  or  essence  with  the  Father. 
Which  words  she  then  used  only  for  the  clearer  explica- 
tion of  the  several  places  in  Scripture,  where  the  divin- 
ity of  Christ  is  asserted.  For  Athanasius,  who  was 
present  at  the  Council,  saith,  that  the  Fathers,  gathering 
the  sense  of  the  Scriptures  concerning  our  Saviour, 
elQ-^Hacn  t6  6^uoo6aiov,  pronounced  him  to  be  d^ooiaiog. 
And  therefore,  though  the  word  was  not  in  Scripture, 
they  intended  no  more  by  it  than  what  was  there  ex- 
pressed in  other  words. 

I  know  that  the  Arians  complained  that  the  word 
ovata  was  nowhere  to  be  found  in  holy  writ.  But 
though  that  Greek  word  be  not,  yet  certainly  there  is  no 
word  in  all  the  Greek  language  that  more  exactly 
answers  to  the  most  proper  name  of  God  nin"'  than  ovala 
doth  ;  and  indeed  the  word  Kvgiog,  which  the  Apostles 
use,  and  whereby  the  Septuagint  translate  mn'  is  much 
of  the  same  signification  in  its  original ;  from  the  old 
word  Kigca^  the  same  with  sl/nl  and  <)7tdQx^-  And 
besides  that,  the  Council  of  Nice  did  not  invent  this 
word,  but  it  had  been  used  in  the  Church  all  along  be- 
fore :  for  Athanasius  saith,  that  some  bishops,  both  of 
Rome  and  Alexandria,  had  used  it  250  years  before  that 
time ;  and  thatEusebius  Csesariensis  himself  acknowledged 
as  much,  and  upon  that  account  afterwards  subscribed  to 
the  Council.  Who  those  bishops  were  we  know  not,  their 
works  being  now  lost  :  but  Tertullian,  who  lived  about 
105  years  before  that  time,  in  his  Apology,  saith,  that 
the  Son  is  called  God,  ex  unitate  substantia;  and  in  his 
book  against  Praxeas,  that  the  three  Persons  are  one 
God  per  substantioe  imitatem,  which  perfectly  agrees 
with  the  Greek  word  dfxooiaiog :    and  seeing  they  that 


1^8  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

lived  so  very  near  to  the  Apostles  used  this  vi^ord,  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  thej"^  also  Vi^ere  not  the  first 
inventors  of  it,  but  that  they  had  received  it  from  the 
Apostles  themselves. 

Howsoever,  this  is  certain,  that  in  the  writings  both 
of  the  Apostles  and  prophets,  we  frequently  meet  with 
the  truth  itself,  which  is  signified  by  this  word  ;^  which 
having  been  confirmed  by  the  Council  of  Nice,  it  hath 
been  constantly  used  by  the  universal  Church,  as  the 
true  and  full  interpretation  of  the  holy  Scripture,  con- 
cerning the  divinity  of  our  blessed  Saviour ;  and  so 
generally  received  by  all  Christians  of  all  ages,  that 
after  the  Arians  were  once  silenced,  it  never  met  with 
any  considerable  opponents  in  the  world,  but  Mahomet 
and  Socinus  with  their  followers,  which  deserve  not  the 
name  of  Christians. 

The  same  may  be  observed  of  the  third  General 
Council  held  at  Ephesus :  for  when  Nestorius  had 
affirmed,  that  in  Christ,  as  there  are  two  natures,  so  there 
are  two  persons  likewise  ;  one  person,  as  he  was  God 
begotten  of  the  Father  ;  the  other  as  man,  born  of  his 
mother  :  and  therefore  that  the  blessed  Virgin  could  not 
properly  be  called  0EOT6xog  :  the  Council,  for  the  deter- 
mination of  this  question,  did  not  only  consult  the  sever- 
al texts  in  Scripture  relating  to  our  blessed  Saviour,  but 
considered  likewise  in  what  sense  those  places  had  been 
understood  by  the  catholic  Church  before  that  time  ;  for 
which  end  they  caused  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  several 
passages  out  of  St.  Cyprian,  St.  Basil,  Athanasius, 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  and  many  others,  to  be  read  in 
council.  And  from  thence  they  gathered,  and  therefore 
pronounced,  that  according  to  the  Scriptures,  as  inter- 
preted by  the  catholic  Church,  Christ,  though  he  have 


TO    BE    USED    BY    MINISTERS.  139 

two  natures,  yet  he  is  but  one  person,  and  by  conse- 
quence that  the  Virgin  Mary  might  properly  be  called 
Geordxogj  because  the  same  person  who  was  born  of  her 
is  truly  God  as  well  as  man  ;  which  being  once  deter- 
mined by  an  universal  Council  to  be  the  true  sense  and 
meaning  of  the  Scriptures  in  this  point,  hath  been  ac- 
knowledged by  the  universal  Church  ever  since,  till  this 
time. 

I  might  instance  in  other  General  Councils,  wherein 
the  same  way  and  method  of  proceeding  was  religiously 
observed.  For  they  never  took  upon  them  to  form  new 
Articles  of  Faith,  but  only  to  explain  and  establish  the 
old  ones  :  which  being  delivered  in  Scripture,  were  be- 
lieved all  along  by  the  catholic  Church  before  that  time. 
And  certainly  whatsoever  hath  been  thus  approved  by 
General  Councils,  and  received  and  taught  by  the  uni- 
versal Church  in  all  ages,  we  have  all  the  reason  in  the 
world  to  believe  it  to  be  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel, 
every  way  corresponding  with  what  is  delivered  in  the 
Scriptures,  though  it  be  not  totidem  verbis  contained  in 
them.  Be  sure  no  sober  man  but  must  acknowledge,  it 
is  more  possible  for  himself,  yea,  and  for  any  particular 
Church,  to  err,  than  it  is  for  the  universal  Church  to  do 
so  :  and  therefore  it  must  needs  be  the  safest  way  to  use 
Scripture-words  in  such  a  sense  as  the  universal  Church 
hath  always  put  upon  them,  and,  by  consequence,  such 
words  also,  whereby  the  universal  Church  hath  always 
expressed  her  sense  of  God's  mind  as  revealed  to  us  in 
Scripture  ;  and  to  look  upon  them  all  as  sound  words, 
such  as  St.  Paul  here  speaks  of,  such  as  will  convey 
right  and  sound  notions  of  the  divine  mysteries  to  our 
understandings. 

I  have  insisted  the  longer  upon  this,  both  because  it  is 


140  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

so  necessary  to  our  being  sound  in  the  faith,  and  also  be- 
cause of  the  great  use  that  may  be  made  of  it  in  defend- 
ing our  Church  against  its  adversaries  on  all  sides.  For 
our  Church  as  to  its  doctrine  as  well  as  discipline,  is  set- 
tled upon  so  firm  a  basis,  so  truly  Catholic,  that  none  can 
oppose  what  she  teacheth,  without  denying  not  only  the 
Scriptures,  but  the  Scriptures  as  interpreted  by  the  uni- 
versal Church.  So  that  we  may  justly  challenge  all  the 
world  to  show  us  any  one  point  or  article  of  faith,  where- 
in our  Church  differs  from  the  Catholic  in  all  ages,  since 
the  Apostles'  days  ;  which,  I  think,  is  more  than  can 
be  said  of  any  other  national  Church  in  the  whole  world  ; 
there  being  no  other,  that  I  know  of,  which  keeps  to  the 
form  of  sound  w^ords  delivered  in  Scripture,  as  inter- 
preted by  the  universal  Church,  so  firmly  and  constantly 
as  ours  doth. 

Not  to  trouble  you  at  present  with  any  other,  there  is 
the  Church  of  Rome,  that  pretends  herself  to  be  the 
only  catholic  Church  in  the  world.  Examine  but  the 
words  that  she  hath  taken  up  of  late,  the  great  words 
whereby  she  distinguisheth  herself  from  all  other 
Churches,  and  you  will  find  that  they  agree  neither  with 
Scripture  nor  antiquity,  much  less  with  both,  as  all  sound 
words  do.  What  those  words  are  which  she  insists  so 
much  upon,  is  easy  to  be  found  out,  for  we  have  a  form 
of  them  prescribed  and  published  by  Pope  Pius  IV.  in 
the  acts  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  inserted  into  their 
canon  law  ;  a  form  of  words  that  every  one  is  bound  to 
swear  to,  before  he  can  be  admitted  into  any  degree  in 
their  Universities,  into  any  benefice,  dignity,  or  prefer- 
ment in  their  Church,  or  indeed  into  any  public  employ- 
ment whatsoever ;  as  appears  by  the  bull  of  the  said 
Pope  to  that  purpose.     But  in  this  whole  form  of  words 


TO    BE    USED    BY   MINISTERS.  141 

except  the  Nicene  Creed,  with  which  it  begins,  to  make 
the  rest  go  down  the  better,  there  is  scarce  any  one  word 
which  can  properly  be  called  sound,  in  the  sense  that  I 
have  now  explained.  There  is  transubstantiatio,  piirga- 
torium,  and  several  such  novel  words,  which  many  of  the 
papists  themselves  have  acknowledged  can  never  be 
proved  from  Scripture  ;  and  if  so,  I  am  sure  they  are 
not  consonant  to  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  Church  ; 
for  she  never  proposed  anything  as  necessary  to  be  be- 
lieved, but  what  she  could  prove  from  Scripture. 

It  is  not  worth  our  labor  to  run  over  the  whole  form ; 
but  give  me  leave  to  single  out  one  paragraph,  because 
of  its  relation  to  the  conspiracy  which  was  yesterday 
prevented,  and  we  praised  God  for  our  deliverance  from 
it.  The  words  are  these  :  Sand  am  cathoHcam  et  apos- 
tolicain  Romanam  ecclesianij  omnium  ecclesiarium  matrem 
et  magistram  agnosco  ;  Romanoque  pontifici^  Sancti  Petri 
apostolorum  principis  successori^  ac  Jesu  Christi  vicario 
veram  obedientiam  spondeo  ac  jtiro.  An  excellent  form  of 
words  truly  for  a  man  to  swear  to,  directly  contrary  both 
to  the  Scriptures  and  the  Catholic  Church  !  the  Church 
of  Rome  as  now  established,  a  catholic  and  apostolic 
Church !  the  mother  and  the  mistress  of  all  other 
Churches  !  but  that  is  nothing  in  comparison  of  what 
follows :  the  bishop  of  Rome,  successor  to  St.  Peter, 
and  the  vicar  of  Christ ! 

And  if  you  would  know  in  what  sense  he  is  the  vicar 
of  Christ,  their  authors  commonly  tell  you,  that  he  is 
so  Christ's  vicar  upon  earth,  that  Christ  and  he  are  but 
one  and  the  same  head  of  the  Church ;  and  so  every 
creature  is  as  much  bound  to  be  subject  to  the  Pope,  as 
to  Christ  himself.  And  therefore  Antonius  Puccius,  in 
a  speech  he  made  in  the  Lateran  Council  to  Pope  I.eo 
7* 


142  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

X.  there  present,  was  neither  afraid  nor  ashamed  to  use 
these  words  to  him :  quasi  in  te,  unoj  vew,  et  legitimo 
Christi  et  Dei  vicario,  propheiicum  illud  debuerit  rursus 
implerlj  Adorahunt  eum  omnes  reges  terrce,  oiiines  gentes 
servient  ei.  So  horribly  hath  this  one  word  or  title  given 
to  the  pope  been  abused  by  them  !  it  hath  indeed  been 
the  occasion  not  only  of  their  pride  and  ambition,  but 
likewise  of  all  the  villanies,  persecutions,  and  assassina- 
tions that  have  been  executed  or  attempted  by  them. 
For  the  constant  use  of  this  word  having  imprinted  in 
their  minds  a  fancy,  that  the  bishop  of  Rome  sits  there 
in  Christ's  stead,  to  manage  and  order  the  affairs  of  the 
whole  world,  whatsoever  he  commands,  be  it  ever  so 
wicked  and  impious,  ever  so  cruel  and  so  barbarous,  they 
look  upon  it  as  sacred,  and  reckon  themselves  obliged 
to  obey  it,  as  much,  yea  much  more,  than  what  Christ 
himself  hath  commanded. 

But  if,  after  all,  you  ask  them  what  right  he  hath  to 
this  name,  how  he  comes  to  be  Christ's  vicar  upon  earth, 
more  than  any  other  bishop  ?  their  answer  is,  because 
he  is  St.  Peter's  successor.  And  therefore  to  make  out 
this  title,  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  prove  two  things  : 
first,  that  St.  Peter  himself  was  made  Christ's  vicar  more 
than  any  other  apostle  ;  and  then,  that  the  bishop  of 
Rome  succeeds  him  in  that  office. 

As  for  the  first,  they  quote  those  words  of  our  Lord 
to  Peter,  Thou  art  Peter ,  and  upon  this  rock  Iivill  build 
my  Churchy  Matt.  xvi.  IS.  But  it  is  plain  that  the  catho- 
lic Church  never  understood  those  words  in  any  such 
sense,  as  if  Peter  was  by  them  constituted  the  vicar  of 
Christ.  And  besides,  it  is  plain  also,  that  although  we 
should  understand  the  words  of  St.  Peter's  person,  yet 
there  is  nothing  at  all  conferred  upon  him  by  them.      For 


TO    BE    USED    BY    MINISTERS.  143 

our  Lord  speaks  not  in  the  present,  but  only  in  the 
future  tense  ;  and  so  doth  not  grant  him  anything  as  yet, 
but  only  promiseth  to  give  him  something  hereafter: 
Upon  this  rocky  saith  he,  I  will  build  my  Churchy  and  I 
will  give  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And 
therefore  to  understand  these  words  aright,  we  must  con- 
sider when  and  how  this  promise  was  fulfilled :  and  that 
we  shall  find  to  have  been  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
when  he  said  to  his  Apostles,  As  my  Father  hath  sent  me, 
so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed 
on  them,  and  said,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost :  whoseso- 
ever sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  to  them :  and  whoseso- 
ever sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained,  John  xx.  21,  22,  23. 
Notv  was  that  promise  fulfilled,  now  were  the  keys  of 
heaven  given  to  St.  Peter  ;  but  not  to  him  only,  but  to 
the  rest  of  the  Apostles  with  him  :  so  that  if  St.  Peter 
was  then  made  the  vicar  of  Christ,  so  were  all  the  other 
apostles  as  well  as  he  ;  and  by  consequence,  all  other 
bishops  as  well  as  he  of  Rome. 

But  after  all  this,  suppose  St.  Peter  was  the  chief  of 
all  the  Apostles ;  suppose  our  Saviour  did  design  him 
some  peculiar  honor,  by  saying,  Upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  Church  ;  what  is  all  this  to  the  pope  of  Rome  } 
how  comes  he  to  be  so  much  concerned  in  anything 
that  was  said  or  done  to  St.  Peter  }  It  is  nowhere  re- 
corded in  the  Gospel,  that  our  Saviour  ever  so  much  as 
mentioned  the  city  of  Rome,  much  less  the  bishop  of  that 
city  ;  which  certainly  it  was  very  necessary  he  should 
have  done,  had  he  designed  him  for  his  perpetual  vicatto 
the  end  of  the  world.  He  that  pretends  to  so  high  an  hon- 
or and  dignity  as  this,  had  need  have  something  more  to 
show  for  it,  than  the  bishop  of  Rome  hath ;  who  hath  so 
little,  that  it  was  a  thousand  years  after  Christ,  before 


144  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

this  title  was  given  to  him.  For  as  I  remember,  St. 
Bernard  was  the  first  that  ever  called  him  j^cct'  ^Io/tjj', 
the  vicar  of  Christ  ;  and  therefore  it  is  far  from  being  the 
sense  of  the  catholic  Church. 

But  since  this  word  hath  been  used,  and  this  title  hath 
been  given  to  the  bishop  of  Rome,  what  mischief  hath  it 
done  in  the  world  ?  For  he,  conceiting  himself  to  repre- 
sent Christ's  person  upon  earth,  and  to  be  invested  with 
all  his  power  and  authority,  at  length  began  to  look  upon 
himself  as  something  more  than  a  man;  at  least,  far 
above  all  mortals  upon  earth  :  and  therefore  hath  taken 
upon  him  to  depose  kings,  to  absolve  their  subjects  from 
their  allegiance,  and  to  persecute,  murder,  assassinate  all 
sorts  of  persons  that  he  is  pleased  to  call  heretics ;  and 
all  this  under  the  pretence  of  religion,  and  authority  de- 
rived from  Christ  himself  as  being  his  vicar  upon  earth. 

0  blessed  Jesus  !  that  ever  thy  sacred  name  should 
ba-  thus  abused  by  the  sons  of  men  !  that  ever  any  one 
should  dare  to  pretend  power  from  thee,  to  destroy  those 
whom  thou  earnest  to  save  with  thine  own  blood  !  What 
shall  we  say  unto  thee,  O  thou  Redeemer  of  men  t  We 
blush  and  are  ashamed  of  ourselves,  that  ever  any  of  our 
nature,  which  thou  wast  pleased  to  assume,  should  be  so 
injurious  to  thee.  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true, 
dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  thyself  on  all  those  who 
thus  continually  blaspheme  thy  great  and  all-glorious 
name,  and  use  it  to  palliate  their  most  atrocious  crimes 
and  barbarous  enormities  !  Abate  their  pride,  assuage  their 
malice,  and  confound  their  devices,  that  thy  name  may  be 
no  longer  dishonored,  thy  Gospel  perverted,  nor  thy 
holy  catholic  Church  oppressed  by  them  ! 

1  have  taken  the  boldness  to  make  this  short  address  to 
our   i.ord  and  Master  Christ,  as  being  confident,  that  he, 


TO    BE    USED    BY    MINISTERS.  145 

according  to  his  promise,  is  present  with  us,  and  will  in 
his  good  time  grant  what  we  have  desired  of  him.  In 
the  mean  while,  we  must  learn  obedience  and  submission 
to  his  divine  will ;  and  above  all  things,  take  care  to  keep 
rt^ithin  the  bounds  that  he  hath  set  us,  and  to  continue 
sound  members  of  that  mystical  body,  whereof  he  is  head. 
For  which  end,  we  must  be  sure  to  observe  this  apostoli- 
cal rule,  to  holdfast  the  form  of  sound  words :  which  his 
Apostle  judge  d  so  necessary,  that  he  minds  Timothy  of 
it,  not  only  here,  but  likewise  in  his  former  Epistle  to 
him,  saying,  1  Tim.  vi.  20.  O  Timothij,  keep  that  which 
is  committed  to  thy  charge  ;  that  is  the  fides  depositum^  as 
St.  Jerome  expounds  it,  that  sound  faith  which  is  com- 
mitted to  thee  :  and  then  he  adds,  avoiding  tu;  §e§'^lovg 
nsvocpwviag^  profane  and  vain  babblings,  as  contrary  to  the 
sound  words  before  spoken  of:  or  as  the  Latin  Fathers 
generally  render  it,  devitaris  profanas  vocum  novitates; 
reading  I  suppose,  ytaivocpmviag  instead  of  xevocpcovlag  ;  but 
the  sense  is  much  the  same.  For  all  new  ways  of  speak- 
ing in  divinity,  especially  in  our  age,  are  at  the  best  but 
vain  babbling,  and  commonly  profane,  possessing  men's 
minds  with  such  notions  and  conceptions  of  things,  as  will 
infallibly  lead  them  into  error  and  heresy.  Read  but  the 
wild  extravagant  opinions  of  the  first  heretics  and  schis- 
matics, that  disturbed  the  Church  ;  and  afterwards  take  a 
view  of  those  which  after-ages  have  produced,  together 
with  such  as  have  been  e  ither  revived  or  invented  in  our 
days  ;  and  you  will  fi  nd  them  all  made  up  of  new  words, 
strange  phrases,  and  odd  expressions,  which  please  the 
ears,  and  then  debauch  the  minds  of  them  which  hearken 
to  them.  We  need  not  go  far  for  instances  ;  every  sect 
amongst  us  will  supply  us  with  too  many,  insomuch  that 
they  may  be  all  known  from  one  another  merely  by  their 


146  A    FORM    OF    SOUI^D    WORDS 

words,  and  new  modes  of  speaking  ;  whereby  they  would 
seem  to  interpret,  when  indeed  they  pervert  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  lorest  them  to  their  own  destruction. 

Hence,  therefore,  it  wnll  be  our  interest  andwisdom,  as 
it  is  our  duty,  to  avoid  those  new  words  and  phrases, 
which  have  been  lately  started  in  the  Church,  as  well  as 
the  opinions  which  are  couched  under  them  ;  and  to  look 
upon  them  at  the  best  but  superfluous  and  unnecessary, 
upon  that  very  account,  because  they  are  new.  For 
nothing  certainly  can  be  necessary  to  be  believed  or 
spoken  in  our  days,  which  hath  not  been  so  all  along. 

Especially  it  concerns  us,  who  are  to  instruct  others 
in  the  way  to  bliss,  to  use  none  but  sound  words,  such  as 
are  consonant  to  the  Scriptures,  as  interpreted  by  the 
catholic  Church  in  all  ages.  I  speak  not  this  of  myself; 
it  is  the  express  command  of  our  Church,  in  the  Canons 
she  put  forth  in  the  year  1571,  where  she  hath  these 
words;  Imprimis  vero  videhunt  concionatores^  ne  quid  un- 
qiiam  doceant  pro  condone^  quod  a  populo  religiose  teneri 
et  credi  velint  nisi  quod  consentaneum  sit  doctrinoe  Veteris 
aut  Novi  Testamenfij  quodque  ex  ilia  ipsa  doctrina  catholici 
patres  et  veteres  episcopi  collegerint.  So  wisely  hath  our 
Church  provided  against  novelties  ;  insomuch  that  had 
this  one  rule  been  duly  observed  as  it  ought,  there  would 
have  been  no  such  thing  as  heresy  or  schism  amongst  us  ; 
but  we  should  all  have  continued  firm  both  to  the  doc- 
trine and  discipline  of  the  universal  Church,  and  so 
shoukl  h^YQ  held  fast  the  form  of  sound  words^  according 
to  the  Apostle's  counsel  in  my  text,  in  the  sense  I  have 
now  explained  it ;  which,  therefore,  that  we  may  for  the 
future  do,  I  shall  conclude  my  present  discourse  with  this 
brief  exhortation. 


TO    BE    USED    BY   MINISTERS.  147 

Men,  brethreriy  and  fathers, 

Give  me  leave  to  speak  freely  to  you,  of  the  Church 
you  live  in :  a  Church,  not  only  in  its  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline, but  in  all  things  else  exactly  conformable  to  the 
primitive,  the  apostolical,  the  catholic  Church.  For, 
was  that  no  sooner  planted  by  Christ,  but  it  was  watered 
by  the  blood  of  martyrs  ?  So  was  ours.  Did  the  primi- 
tive Christians  suffer  martyrdom  from  Rome  ?  So  did 
our  first  reformers.  Hath  the  catholic  Church  been  all 
along  pestered  with  heretics  and  schismatics  }  So  hath 
ours.  Have  they  endeavored  in  all  ages  to  undermine, 
and  so  overthrow,  her  }  In  this  also  ours  is  but  too 
much  like  unto  her.  And  it  is  no  wonder  ;  for  the  same 
reason  that  occasioned  all  the  disturbances  and  opposi- 
tions that  the  catholic  Church  ever  met  with,  still  holds 
good  as  to  ours  too  :  even  because  its  doctrine  is  so  pure, 
its  discipline  so  severe,  its  worship  so  solemn,  and  all  its 
rules  and  constitutions  so  holy,  perfect,  and  divine,  that 
mankind,  being  generally  debauched  in  their  principles 
and  practices,  have  a  natural  averseness  from  it,  if  not  an 
antipathy  against  it.  They  would  willingly  go  to  heaven, 
but  are  loath  to  be  at  so  much  pains  for  it,  as  our  Church, 
out  of  the  word  of  God,  prescribes  ;  and  therefore  would 
fain  persuade  themselves,  that  man}''  of  her  proscriptions 
are  either  sinful  or  superfluous,  because  not  suiting,  for- 
sooth, with  their  humor,  interest,  or  deprared  inclina- 
tions. But  all  their  little  objections  against  her  are 
grounded  either  upon  their  ignorance  of  what  she  pre- 
scribes, or  else  upon  their  unwillingness  to  perform  it. 
There  are  very  few,  either  of  the  papists  or  sectaries, 
that  know  what  our  Church  is,  and  therefore  all  their 
zeal  against  it  must  needs  be  without  knowledge.  And 
they  that  have  some  general  notions  of  it,  would  never 


148  A    FORM    OF    SOUND    WORDS 

set  themselves  in  good  earnest  upon  the  observance  of 
what  she  commands,  and  therefore  cannot  knovv^  what  ad- 
vantage it  would  be  to  them. 

Whereas,  let  any  one  that  hath  a  due  sense  of  religion, 
and  a  real  desire  of  happiness,  let  such  a  one  make  trial 
of  our  Church  but  for  one  year  ;  let  him  constantly  read 
the  Scriptures,  in  the  method  that  she  prescribes  ;  let 
him  constantly  use  the  Common-Prayer  according  to  her 
directions  ;  let  him  constantly  observe  all  her  fasts  and 
holy-days  ;  let  him  receive  the  Sacrament  as  often  as  she 
is  ready  to  administer  it,  and  perform  whatsoever  else 
she  hath  been  pleased  to  command  ;  let  any  man,  I  say, 
do  this,  and  then  let  him  be  against  our  Church  if  he 
can  :  I  am  confident  he  cannot.  But  our  misery  is,  that 
none  of  those  who  are  out  of  our  Church,  and  but  few 
of  those  that  are  in  it,  will  make  the  experiment :  and 
that  is  the  reason  that  those  are  so  violent  against  her, 
and  these  so  indifferent  for  her. 

But  let  others  do  what  they  please,  and  answer  for 
themselves  as  well  as  they  can  another  day  ;  as  for  you 
who  are  here  at  this  time,  in  the  especial  presence  of 
God,  I  humbly  beseech  and  exhort  you  in  the  name  of 
our  Lord  mid  Master  Jesus  Christy  that  as  he  hath  been 
pleased  to  admit  you  into  so  holy  and  pure  a  Church,  so 
you  would  all  endeavor  to  live  up  to  the  rules  and  or- 
ders of  it,  as  many  here  present  do.  First,  keep  close 
to  the  words  she  uses  in  her  Articles  and  common 
prayers  ;  by  this  means  you  will  have  a  right  judgment 
in  all  things,  and  holdfast  the  form  of  sound  icords  indeed. 
By  this  m.eans  you  will  be  secure  from  heresy,  and  en- 
tertain no  doctrine  but  what  is  catholic  and  orthodox. 
Ijy  this  means  whatsoever  happens,  you  will  still  be  stead- 
fast in  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  not  suffer  yourselves  to  l>e 


TO    BE    USED    BY    MINISTERS.  149 

imposed  upon  by  the  adversaries  of  our  Church  on  either 
side  ;  for  if  they  cannot  fasten  new  words  upon  you,  it 
will  be  impossible  for  them  ever  to  deceive  you. 

But  then  you  must  remember  to  conform  to  the  disci- 
pline, as  well  as  to  the  doctrine,  of  our  Church,  not  hy- 
pocritically, indifferently,  and  partially,  but  sincerely, 
constantly,  universally,  so  as  to  observe  and  do  whatso- 
ever she  commands,  either  in  her  Liturgy,  Canons,  or 
Constitutions.  By  this  means  you  will  live  as  the  primi- 
tive Fathers  did,  and  come  short  of  none  of  the  most 
eminent  Christians  that  ever  lived  since  the  Apostles' 
times.  By  this  you  will  shame  the  adversaries  of  our 
Church  into  a  compliance  with  her,  when  they  see  how 
far  you  outstrip  them  in  all  true  grace  and  virtue :  yea, 
by  this  means  you  will  be  really  saints  on  earth,  and  glo- 
rified saints  in  heaven.  For  be  but  you  as  pious  to- 
wards God,  as  loyal  to  our  queen,  as  sober  in  yourselves, 
as  faithful  to  your  friends,  as  loving  to  your  enemies,  as 
charitable  to  the  poor,  as  just  to  all,  as  our  Church  en- 
joins you  ;  in  a  word,  be  but  you  as  conformable  to  her, 
as  she  is  to  the  catholic  Church  in  all  things,  and  my 
life,  my  eternal  life  for  yours,  you  cannot  but  be  happy 
for  evermore.  Which  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant 
we  may  all  be,  in  and  through  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ, 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ j  and  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ^  <^c. 


SERMON    VI. 


STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED  CHURCH  RECOMMENDED. 


1.  Cor.  IV.  58. 

Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadlast,  unmoveable,  always  abound- 
ing in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not 
in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

As  certain  as  we  are  now  alive,  it  is  not  long  but  we 
shall  be  all  dead  ;  and  as  certainly  as  we  ever  die,  we 
shall  one  day  rise  again  ;  that  is,  the  same  bodies  out  of 
which  our  souls  depart,  howsoever  they  are  dissolved  in 
the  meanwhile,  and  their  parts  dispersed  and  scattered 
about,  shall  be  put  together  again,  and  shall  be  quickened 
and  informed  by  the  same  souls  which  departed  from  them ; 
and  so  the  same  individual  persons  that  died  before,  shall 
live  again,  yea,  so  live  as  never  to  die  more. 

This  is  that  great  article  of  our  Christian  faith,  which 
the  Apostle  in  this  chapter  doth  not  only  assert  and  prove 
from  many  undeniable  arguments,  but  likewise  discourses 
at  large  concerning  the  cause,  the  manner  and  the  effects, 
or  consequences  of  it,  especially  with  reference  to  those 
who  die  in  the  true  faith  of  Christ,  real  and  sound  mem- 
bers of  that  body  whereof  he  is  dead  ;  concerning  whom 
he  assures  us,  that  every  one  of  their  bodies,  though  it  be 
as  seed  sown  and  rotten  in  the  ground,  it  shall  afterwards 
grow  up  and  flourish  more  than  ever.  ^'  It  is  sown," 
saith  he,  "  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  151 

sown  in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown  in 
weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power  ;  it  is  sown  a  natural 
body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body,"  ver  42,  43,  44.  A 
spiritual  body,  it  w^ill  be  a  body  still,  consisting  of  the 
same  elements  it  did  before,  but  so  rarely  tempered,  that 
it  will  subsist  without  meat  or  drink,  and  be  subject 
neither  to  heat,  nor  cold,  nor  hunger,  nor  thirst,  nor  wea- 
riness, nor  ache,  nor  pain,  nor  any  distress  or  distemper 
whatsoever,  but  will  be  always  as  fresh  and  lively,  as 
nimble  and  active,  as  subservient  and  obedient  to  the 
soul,  as  if  itself  was  purely  spiritual ;  so  that  this  cor- 
ruptible body,  which  the  soul  is  now  clothed  withal, 
"  will  then  put  on  incorruption,  this  mortal  body  will  put 
on  immortality,"  ver.  53,  that  is,  it  will  always  be  a  fit  and 
proper  vehicle  for  the  soul  to  move  in,  which  therefore 
shall  never  any  more  depart  from  it,  and  so  it  will  be- 
come incorruptible  and  immortal,  never  subject  to  death 
or  corruption,  but  be  always  acted,  influenced,  and  gov- 
erned by  the  immortal  soul  that  dwelleth  in  it ;  so  that 
death  shall  then  be  swallowed  up  in  victory,  so  perfectly 
overcome,  that  it  shall  cease  to  be  ;  there  shall  never  be 
any  more  separation  of  the  soul  and  body  ;  but  they  shall 
live  together  like  loving  mates,  in  glory,  and  joy,  and 
bliss  for  evermore. 

These  things  being  thus  premised  by  the  Apostle  in 
this  chapter,  concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  he 
concludes  it  with  the  words  which  I  have  now  read, 
which  are  only  an  inference  or  corollary  drawn  from  the 
said  premises  ;  as  if  he  had  said,  "  Seeing  the  dead  shall 
not  all  rise  again,  and  seeing  they  who  die  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  shall  live  with  him  and  be  happy  for  ever ;  there- 
fore, my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,"  &c. 

Where  we  may  observe,  by  the  way,  how  the  Apostle 


152    STEADFASTNESS   TO    THE    ESTABLISHED 

having  explained  and  proved  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection,  and  coming  now  to  apply  it  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans, to  whom  he  wrote,  and  in  them  to  all  Christians,  the 
better  to  prepare  and  dispose  them  to  receive  and  observe 
what  he  was  now  to  press  upon  them,  he  ushers  it  in 
with  this  friendly  compellation,  my  beloved  brethren  ;  that 
so  calling  them  not  only  his  brethren,  as  all  are  in  Christ, 
but  brethren  in  a  particular  manner  beloved  by  him,  he 
might  thereby  give  them  to  understand,  that  what  he  was 
now  to  put  them  in  mind  of,  from  his  apostolical  discourse 
concerning  the  resurrection,  and  the  application  he  was 
about  to  make  of  the  same  doctrine  to  them,  proceeded 
from  that  brotherly  love  and  kindness  which  he  had  for 
them,  that  he  had  no  other  end  or  design  in  it,  but  what 
one  true  friend  hath  for  another,  even  to  do  them  good, 
by  putting  them  in  mind  of  those  duties,  which  necessa- 
rily follow  from  the  doctrine  he  hath  now  delivered  ; 
therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfastj  &c.  Hav- 
ing, therefore,  thus  prepared  the  way,  he  acquaints  them 
with  three  great  duties  now  incumbent^upon  them,  which 
he  earnestly  exhorteth  them  to  observe  ;  be  ye  steadfast, 
immoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  icork  of  the  Lord ; 
and  then  he  enforceth  his  exhortation  with  this  urgent 
reason,  drawn  from  what  he  had  premised  concerning  the 
resurrection, /orasmwc^  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not 
in  vain  in  the  Lord ;  which  reason  always  holding  good, 
the  duties  grounded  upon  it  must  needs  be  likewise  of 
perpetual  obligation,  and  by  consequence  necessary  to  be 
observed  now  as  much  as  ever,  and  by  us  as  much  as  by 
any  other ;  which  therefore  that  they  may  be,  we  shall 
briefly  consider  and  explain  the  true  meaning  of  each  of 
them  as  they  lie  in  order. 

First,  saith  he,  be  ye  steadfast ;  that  is,  well  grounded 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  163 

and  settled,  as  the  word  signifieth,  in  the  Christian  reh- 
gion,  as  the  way  to  obtain  a  glorious  resurrection  ;  which 
we  cannot  fail  of,  if  we  continue  in  the  faith,  grounded 
and  settled,  and  be  not  moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the 
Gospel^  as  the  same  Apostle  expresseth  it  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  chap.  i.  23.  To  whom  therefore  he 
gives  this  apostolical  advice,  ^'  As  ye  have  received  Christ 
Jesus,  so  walk  ye  in  him,  rooted  and  built  up  in  him, 
and  established  in  the  faith  as  ye  have  been  taught, 
abounding  therein  with  thanksgiving,"  chap.  ii.  6,  7 ; 
which  is  the  same  in  effect  with  that  in  my  text,  he  ye 
steadfast. 

But  what  it  is  in  the  Christian  religion  that  we  ought 
in  a  more  particular  manner  to  be  steadfast  in,  we  may 
learn  from  what  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  left  upon  record 
concerning  the  first  converts  to  it  after  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion, where  he  saith,  that  they  continued  steadfast  in  the 
Apostles''  doctrine  and.  fellowship^  and  in  hreaklncj  of  breadj 
and  in  prayers y  Acts  ^ii.  42  ;  which  are  plainly  the  true 
marks  or  notes  of  a  Christian  church,  whereby  it  may  be 
distinguished  from  all  other  assemblies  or  bodies  of  men, 
and  which  by  consequence  all  persons  must  be  steadfast 
in,  who  desire  to  continue  real  and  sound  members  of  that 
Church  which  Christ  Jesus  hath  established  in  the 
world. 

1.  They  continued  steadfast  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine  ; 
they  did  not  only  hearken  to  what  the  Apostles  said,  and 
beUeved  what  they  taught,  but  they  continued  constant, 
firm,  and  steadfast  in  it,  so  as  to  believe  nothing  as  neces- 
sary to  salvation,  but  what  the  Apostles  taught  them,  but 
to  believe  everything  that  the  Apostles  taught  them  as 
necessary  to  salvation,  being  confident  that  the  Apostles, 
being  acted  and  directed  in  what  they  taught  by  the  Spirit 


154    STEADFASTNESS    TO    THE    ESTABLISHED 

of  God  himself,  would  never  teach  them  anything  either 
untrue  or  impertinent ;  nothing  but  what  was  both  infal- 
libly certain,  and  absolutely  necessary  for  them  to  know 
and  believe,  in  order  to  their  obtaining  eternal  salv^ation 
by  Jesus  Christ ;  and  therefore  they  would  not  hearken 
to  any  Jewish  fables,  nor  philosophical  speculations,  nor 
yet  to  their  cfwn  fancies,  nor  to  the  opinions  of  other 
men  ;  but  kept  close  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  as 
delivered  to   them  by  the   Apostles  of  Christ,  the  first 
founder  of  it,  who  gave  them  authority  to  preach  it,  and 
assisted  them  with  his  own  Spirit  in  the  preaching  of  it, 
that  so  they  might  be  sure  to  preach  nothing  but  what  he 
would  have  them,  nothing  bnt  what  was  agreeable  to 
those  eternal  truths  that  he  himself  had  before  revealed 
to  them  :  this  the  first  Christians  knew,  and  therefore 
would  never  give  ear  to  any  other  teachers  but  the  Apos- 
tles themselves,  and  such  as  were  sent  by  them  ;  and  this 
indeed  was    one    of  the  doctrines  which  the   Apostles 
taught,  that  they  should  not  hearken  to  any  other  doc- 
trine but  what  they  taught,   but  keep  fast  to  that ;  as 
where  St.  Paul  saith  to  Timothy,  "  Hold  fast  the  form  of 
sound  words  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me,  in  faith  and 
love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  2  Tim.  i.  13.     And  St. 
Peter,  M^uting  to  all  Christians,  saith,  ''  This  second  Epis- 
tle, beloved,  I  write  unto  you,  in  both  which   I  stir  up 
your  pure  minds  by  way  of  remembrance,  that  ye  may 
be  mindful  of  the  words  which  were  spoken  before  by 
the  holy  prophets,  and  of  the  commandment  of  us  the  apos- 
tles of  the  Lord  and  Saviour,"  2  Pet.  iii.  1,2.    The  pro- 
phets and  apostles  being  all  actuated  with  the  same  Spirit, 
what  they  commanded  to  men  to  believe- or  to  do,  that 
was  necessary  to  be  accordingly  believed  and  done,  and 
nothing  else  ;  and   therefore  he  adviseth  all  to  continue 


CHURCH    RECOxMMENDED.  155 

steadfastly  in  their  doctrine,  without  minding  what  others 
said  or  taught. 

And  this  certainly  is  the  first  and  great  thing  that 
Christians  in  all  ages  ought  to  be  steadfast  in,  even  in  the 
doctrine  which  Christ  and  his  Apostles  taught,  for  that 
is  the  foundation  of  our  whole  religion  ;  and  therefore, 
unless  we  be  well  grounded  in  that,  all  our  hopes  of  sal- 
vation will  soon  fall  to  the  ground  5  it  is  by  this  that  we 
believe  aright  in  God,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  hath 
sent ;  and  it  is  by  this  also  that  we  rightly  understand 
our  duty  both  to  God  and  man  ;  and  therefore,  without 
this  we  can  neither  believe  nor  live  according  to  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ,  and  by  consequence  can  never  be  saved 
by  him. 

Wherefore,  as  ever  ye  desire  to  be  saved,  ye  must  be 
sure  to  be  steadfast  in  the  doctrine,  which  the  Apostles  of 
Christ  by  his  order  and  commission  delivered  at  first  by 
word  of  mouth,  and  afterwards  in  writing,  that  all  gene- 
rations might  know  it,  by  which  means  we  are  now  as 
fully  assured  of  what  the  Apostles  taught,  as  they  could 
be  which  heard  them  speak  it.  Their  doctrine  being 
transmitted  to  us  by  the  infallible  testimony  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  by  which  they  spake  and  writ  it  in  that  holy  book 
which  we  call  the  New  Testament ;  so  that  whatsoever 
we  there  read,  as  taught  by  the  Apostles,  we  are  sure 
was  their  doctrine,  and  therefore  are  bound  steadfastly  to 
believe  it,  and  diligently  to  frame  our  lives  according  to 
it ;  but  what  we  do  not  find  there  written,  we  can  never 
be  sure  that  they  taught  it,  and  therefore  cannot  be  oblig- 
ed to  believe  or  observe  it. 

And  hence  appears  the  excellency  of  our  Church,  in 
that  it  requires  nothing  to  be  believed  as  an  article  of 
faith,  or  as  necessary  to  salvation,  but  what  the  Apostles 


156    STEADFASTNESS   TO    THE    ESTABLISHED 

first  taught,  and  what  the  Church  of  Christ  in  all  ages 
hath  believed  to  be  consonant  to  the  doctrine  contained 
in  their  writings  ;  but  whatsoever  opinion  hath  no  ground 
or  foundation  in  the  said  apostoHcal  writings,  that  ours 
together  with  the  catholic  Church  rejecteth,  as  either  ut- 
terly false,  or  at  best  not  necessary  to  be  believed  ;  and 
therefore  in  order  to  your  continuing  steadfast,  as  the  first 
Christians  did,  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine,  the  surest  way 
is  to  keep  close  to  the  doctrine  of  our  Church,  which  is 
plainly  the  same  with  that  of  the  Apostles  in  all  points, 
without  any  addition,  diminution,  or  alteration  whatsoev- 
er ;  which  is  the  great  glory  of  our  Church,  and  should 
make  us  not  only  to  continue  firm  and  dutiful  to  it,  but 
likewise  to  thank  God  that  we  live  in  such  a  Church, 
wherein  we  are  duly  instructed  in  all  the  great  truths 
which  our  Saviour  and  his  Apostles  taught,  and  are  not 
required  to  believe  anything  else,  as  necessary  to  our 
being  saved ;  by  which  means  as  our  minds  may  be  en- 
lightened, and  our  hearts  purified  by  that  faith  which 
was  once  delivered  to  the  saints ;  so  we  are  secure  from 
falling  into  any  damnable  heresy,  or  from  being  corrupt- 
ed or  perplexed  with  any  of  those  new  and  dangerous 
opinions,  which  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  after- 
ages  have  brought  into  the  Church. 

What  this  doctrine  of  our  Church  is,  you  may  easily 
understand ;  as  from  the  holy  Scriptures  themselves,  so 
likewise  from  the  Liturgy  and  Articles  of  our  Church, 
which  are  all  taken  out  of  the  said  Scriptures,  or  ground- 
ed upon  them  ;  and  therefore  whatsoever  doctrine  is  con- 
tradicted by  anything  contained  in  our  Liturgy  or  Articles, 
you  may  be  sure  it  is  contrary  to  something  asserted  in  the 
holy  Scriptures  ;  whatsoever  doctrine  is  nowhere  taught 
or  declared  there,  you  may  be  as  confident  that  the  Apos- 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  157 

ties  never  declared  or  taught  it ;  and  by  consequence 
you  are  so  far  from  being  obliged  to  believe  it,  that  you 
are  rather  obliged  not  to  believe  it,  as  a  necessary  article 
of  our  Christian  faith,  howsoever  specious  or  plausible  it 
may  seem  to  you ;  but  vrhatsoever  doctrine  you  find  to 
be  clearly  propounded,  asserted,  or  suggested  either  in 
our  Articles  or  Common  Prayer  Book,  you  may  and 
ought  to  rest  fully  satisfied  in  your  minds,  that  that  is  the 
true  doctrine  of  the  Apostles,  which  you  ought  to  con- 
tinue firm  and  steadfast  in. 

But  the  first  Christians,  as  they  continued  steadfastly  in 
the  Apostles'  doctrine^  so  likewise  in  fellowship^  or  com- 
munion with  them,  as  it  follows  in  the  text  before  men- 
tioned, Acts  ii.  42.  For  the  understanding  of  which,  we 
may  observe,  that  these  persons  being  now  baptized  ac- 
cording to  Christ's  institution,  they  were  thereby  admit- 
ted into  the  number  of  his  disciples,  and  so  were  incor- 
porated into  him,  and  made  members  of  that  body  where- 
of he  is  head,  which  is  a  distinct  society  from  the  rest  of 
mankind,  founded  by  Christ  himself,  by  the  name  of  his 
Church,  which  he  promised  to  be  always  with,  and  to 
assist  with  his  own  Spirit,  in  the  use  of  those  means 
which  he  had  instituted,  and  appointed  to  be  there  ad- 
ministered for  our  obtaining  that  salvation  which  he  pur- 
chased for  us  with  his  own  blood  ;  and  therefore  it  is 
there  said,  that  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily  such 
as  should  be  saved,  ver.  47.  For  which  purpose  he  or- 
dained and  deputed  his  Apostles  and  their  successors  to 
instruct  and  govern  the  said  society,  and  to  take  care 
that  all  who  are  admitted  into  it,  might  have  the  said 
means  of  grace  duly  administered  unto  them,  that  so  they 
might  want  nothing  necessary  to  their  being  saved  by 
him. 


158        STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

Now  these  persons  being  of  this  society,  fellow-citizens 
with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God,  as  St.  Paul 
expresseth  it,  Eph.  ii.  19,  they  always  kept  company  and 
held  communion  with  them,  not  only  in  receiving  and 
believing  the  doctrine  which  the  Apostles  taught  them, 
but  likewise  observing  the  rules  and  orders  which  they 
appointed,  and  using  all  the  means  of  grace  and  salva- 
tion, as  administered  by  them,  so  as  not  to  divide  them- 
selves into-  parties  and  factions,  nor  separate  from  that 
holy  society  they  were  now  admitted  into,  under  anj'- 
pretence  whatsoever. 

And  in  this  also  we  ought  to  follow  their  good  exam- 
ple. It  is  our  great  happiness  that  we  are  of  the  same 
apostolic  Church  as  they  were,  and  therefore  ought  to 
continue  steadfastly  in  fellowship  and  communion  with  it, 
as  they  did.  It  is  true  there  were  not  so  many  schisms 
and  divisions  in  the  Church  then,  as  there  are  now  ;  but 
the  reason  was,  because  the  people  did  not  make  them, 
as  many  do  in  our  days,  who,  notwithstanding  that  they 
are  admitted  into  our  Church,  are  so  far  from  continuing 
steadfast  in  communion  with  it,  that  they  never  think  they 
can  separate  themselves  far  enough  from  it.  But  let 
such  persons  do  what  they  please,  and  take  what  fol- 
lows :  I  must  advise  and  beseech  you  in  his  name,  that 
laid  down  his  own  life  to  save  you,  and  for  the  same  pur- 
pose hath  brought  3-ou  into  his  Church,  that  you  would 
hold  constant  comumnion  with  it,  as  by  believing  the 
doctrine,  so  by  loving  the  members,  observing  the  orders, 
and  submitting  to  the  discipline  of  it,  and  exercising  your- 
selves  continually  in  the  means  of  grace,  as  they  are 
constantly  and  duly  administered  in  it.  For  so  long  as 
you  do  so,  you  are  certainly  in  the  ready  way  to  heaven  ; 
whereas,  if  you  leave  the  Church,  and  run  into  corners 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  159 

and  separate  congregations,  you  expose  yourselves  at 
least  to  very  great  uncertainties  about  your  salvation. 

While  you  live  constantly  in  the  communion  of  our 
Church,  you  are  sure  to  enjoy  all  the  means  which  Christ 
hath  appointed  for  your  salvation,  faithfully  administered 
in  the  same  way  and  manner  that  he  appointed  ;  you  are 
sure  to  be  fully  instructed  in  your  whole  duty  both  to  God 
and  man  ;  you  are  sure  to  pray  together  in  such  a  form, 
as  both  for  the  matter  and  method  and  manner  of  it  agrees 
exactly  with  the  Word  of  God  :  you  are  sure  to  have  the 
Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  administer- 
ed unto  you,  according  to  Christ's  own  institution,  with- 
out any  additions  to  it,  or  detractions  from  it ;  you  are 
sure  to  have  all  this  done,  by  persons  rightly  ordained 
and  authorized  thereunto  by  Christ  himself,  and  you  are 
sure  that  what  they  teach  you  is  sound  and  orthodox, 
the  very  same  doctrine  which  Christ  and  his  Apostles 
taught;  for  when  they  are  ordained,  they  solemnly  pro- 
fess and  promise  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  they  will 
instruct  the  people  committed  to  their  charge  out  of  the 
holy  Scriptures  ;  and  that  they  will  teach  nothing  (as  re- 
quired of  necessity  to  eternal  salvation)  but  what  they 
are  persuaded  may  be  concluded  and  proved  by  the  said 
Scriptures  ;  neither  can  they  afterwards  be  admitted  to 
preach,  till  they  have  subscribed  to  the  Articles  and  Lit- 
urgy of  our  Church  ;  in  which,  as  I  observed  before,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Apostles  is  fully  contained.  And  besides 
all  this,  so  long  as  you  continue  in  the  communion  of  our 
Church  you  are  sure  to  have  the  Words  and  Sacraments 
administered  to  you,  by  those  who  have  the  charge  of 
your  souls  committed  to  them,  and  who  are  therefore 
obliged  both  in  duty  and  interest  to  take  as  much  care  of 
you  as  themselves,  their  own  eternal  salvation  depending 


160       STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

in  a  great  measure  upon  their  faithful  discharge  of  their 
office  towards  you.  To  which  also  God  hath  promised 
the  assistance  of  his  own  grace  and  Holy  Spirit,  to  make 
it  effectual  to  you  for  the  great  ends  and  purposes  for 
which  it  is  ordained.  So  that  all  things  considered,  it  is 
morally  impossible  that  you  should  be  led  into  error,  be 
ignorant  of  the  truth,  or  miss  of  grace  and  salvation,  if 
you  hold  constant  communion  with  our  Church,  and  sin- 
cerely believe  and  live  accordingly  as  you  are  there 
taught. 

But  if  you  leave  the  communion  or  fellowship  of  our 
Church,  or  join'yourself  to  any  of  the  sects  which  are 
risen  up  among  us,  as  you  will  be  certain  to  want  many 
of  the  means  of  grace  which  you  here  enjoy,  you  will  be 
uncertain  whether  you  shall  enjoy  any  of  them,  so  as  to 
attain  the  end  for  which  they  are  appointed,  even  the  sal- 
vation of  your  souls  ;  for  you  will  be  uncertain  whether 
they  who  administer  them  be  lawfully  called  and  sent  by 
Christ  to  do  it,  as  be  sure  many  of  them  are  not.  You 
will  be  uncertain  whether  you  can  join  with  them  in 
prayer  ;  for  in  some  places  they  know  not  what  they  say, 
in  other  places  they  themselves  know  not  what  they  in- 
tend to  say,  until  they  have  said  it,  and  how  then  can 
you  know  it  t  You  will  be  uncertain  whether  you  shall 
ever  receive  any  benefit  from  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper ;  for  some  never  administer  it  at  all,  others  do  it 
either  so  imperfectly  or  irregularly,  that  the  virtue  and 
efficacy  of  it  is  very  much  impaired,  if  not  quite  destroy- 
ed. You  will  be  uncertain,  whether  they  preach  the  true 
doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  for  they  never  subscribed  to  it,  nor 
solemnly  promised  to  preach  that  and  no  other ;  neither 
are  they  ever  called  to  an  account  for  anything  they  say 
or  teach,  be  it  never  so  false  or  contrary  to  what  Christ 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  161 

and  his  Apostles  taught ;  so  that  they  may  lead  you  blind- 
fold whithersoever  they  please,  without  control:  and, 
after  all,  you  will  be  uncertain  whether  they  seek  you  or 
yours ;  for  they  have  no  more  obligation  upon  them  to 
take  care  of  your  souls,  than  you  have  to  take  care  of 
theirs  :  and  therefore  the  most  favorable  and  the  most 
charitable  construction  that  can  be  put  upon  the  separa- 
tion from  our  Church  is,  that  it  is  leaving  a  certainty  for 
an  uncertainty,  which  no  wise  man  would  do  in  anything, 
much  less  in  a  matter  upon  which  his  eternal  happiness 
and  salvation  depends ;  from  whence  ye  may  easily  ob- 
serve, that  it  is  your  wisdom  and  interest,  as  well  as  duty, 
to  be  steadfast  as  in  the  doctrine,  so  likewise  in  fellowship 
or  communion  with  the  Church,  as  the  first  disciples 
were. 

The  next  thing  they  continued  steadfastly  in  was  break- 
ing of  bread,  or  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper; 
which  is  so  necessary  to  our  holding  communion  with  the 
Church,  that  it  hath  got  the  name  almost  wholly  appro- 
priated to  itself,  being  commonly  called  the  Communion, 
because  in  it  we  communicate  both  with  Christ  the  head, 
and  in  him  with  all  the  sound  members  of  his  mystical 
body,  the  Church.  In  this  therefore  they  continued  stead- 
fastly ;  that  is,  they  never  failed  to  receive  the  Lord's 
Supper  when  it  was  administered,  which  was  at  least 
every  Lord's  day,  as  is  plain  from  Acts  xx.  7,  where  it 
is  said,  and  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week^  when  the  dis- 
ciples came  together  to  break  bread.  From  whence  it  ap- 
pears also,  that  this  was  the  great  and  principal  end  of 
their  meeting  upon  that  day,  even  to  communicate  in 
Christ's  mystical  body  and  blood  ;  which  therefore  they 
all  did,  none  offering  to  go  away  without  partaking  of 
that  heavenly  food ;  and  if  any  presumed  to  do  it,  with- 


162      STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

out  showing  very  just  cause  for  it,  they  were  looked  upon 
as  heathens  and  publicans,  and  therefore  cast  out  of  the 
Church  as  not  worthy  to  be  of  that  holy  society  :  neither 
was  this  severe  discipline  used  only  in  the  Apostles'  times, 
but  a  good  while  after,  as  appears  from  the  Canons  of 
the  primitive  Church,  which  are  so  ancient  that  the3'-are 
called  Apostolical ;  and  as  you  desire  to  be  such  holy 
persons  as  they  were,  you  must  be  sure  to  make  as  much 
conscience  of  this  holy  duty  as  they  did.  Blessed  be 
God  for  it,  you  have  the  same  opportunity  as  they  had, 
of  receiving  the  holy  Sacrament  every  Lord's  day,  and 
therefore  be  advised  to  follow  their  example,  in  being 
constantly  at  it,  or  at  least  as  oft  as  possibly  you  can  ;  do 
not  let  every  little  trifling  worldly  business  deprive  you 
of  the  greatest  blessing  you  can  have  on  this  side  heaven  : 
you  cannot  but  all  acknowledge,  that  the  merits  of 
Christ's  death,  which  are  there  offered  to  you,  are  infi- 
nitely beyond  all  the  crowns  and  sceptres  upon  earth,  and 
therefore  let  not  anything  in  this  w^orld  hinder  you  from 
partaking  of  them  ;  many  of  you,  I  dare  say,  have  found 
by  your  own  experience  unspeakable  comfort  and  advan- 
tage, by  frequent  or  constant  applying  yourselves  to  your 
blessed  Saviour  in  that  holy  Sacrament,  and  you  w^ould  all 
do  so,  if  you  would  but  make  trial  of  it ;  which  therefore  I 
must  again  advise  and  beseech  you  all  to  do,  especially 
those  whose  souls  are  committed  to  my  care.  I  know  I 
must  give  an  account  of  my  charge  one  day  to  my  great 
Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ,  and  therefore  dare  not  but 
administer  this  as  well  as  the  other  mealis  that  he  hath 
appointed  for  your  salvation,  as  oft  as  he  and  his  Church 
requires  it ;  and  in  his  name  I  beseech  and  admonish  you 
to  be  as  careful  and  constant  in  the  use  of  it,  so  that  I 
may  deliver  up  my  accounts  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief; 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED,  163 

which  I  do  not  question  but  I  shall  do  it,  if  you  would 
but  continue  steadfastly  as  in  doctrine  and  fellowship,  so 
in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers,  which  is  the  last 
thing  which  the  disciples  are  there  said  to  continue  stead- 
fastly in  :  in  prayers,  that  is,  in  the  public  prayers  of  the 
Church  ;  for  what  they  did  in  private,  every  one  by  him- 
self, could  not  be  so  well  known  ;  neither  was  it  so  ma- 
terial to  know  that,  as  how  they  carried  themselves  in  re- 
lation to  the  Church,  that  fellowship  or  communion  of 
saints,  into  which  they  were  now  admitted,  with  whom 
they  constantly  joined  in  their  public  devotions,  or  such 
prayers  as  were  common  to  them  all,  and  so  both  testi- 
fied their  communion  with  them,  and  assisted  in  the  wor- 
ship of  the  most  high  God  and  imploring  his  mercy  for 
all  in  general,  as  well  as  every  one  for  himself  in  parti- 
cular, and  that  not  only  now  and  then,  but  every  day,  or 
as  oft  as  possibly  they  could. 

And  in  this  also  we  ought  to  follow  their  good  and 
pious  example,  by  being  steadfast  and  constant,  not  only 
in  our  private  but  public  devotions,  according  to  that  ex- 
cellent apostolical  form,  which  our  Church  hath  prescrib- 
ed on  purpose,  that  all  the  members  of  it,  not  only  in 
this  kingdom,  but  wheresoever  they  are,  might  join  to- 
gether in  one  heart  and  mind,  in  hearing  God's  holy  word, 
in  praying  to  him,  and  praising  his  most  glorious  name  ; 
and  therefore,  all  that  desire  to  live  and  act  as  becometh 
the  real  and  sound  members  of  ours,  as  she  is  the  catho- 
lic and  apostolic  Church,  should  take  all  opportunities 
they  can  get  of  performing  their  solemn  and  public  devo- 
tions to  God,  according  to  the  said  form.  This  being  the 
principal  means  whereby  to  obtain  the  illuminations  and 
assistances  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  to  withstand  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  and  to  live 


164        STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world,  and 
to  persevere  to  the  end  in  so  doing. 

And,  indeed,  I  know  nothing  in  the  world  that,  by  the 
grace  and  blessing  of  God,  contributes  more  to  our  steadi- 
ness in  the  doctrine  and  communion  of  our  Church,  than 
frequent  receiving  of  the  holy  Sacrament,  and  constant 
attendance  at  her  public  prayers,  which  whosoever  doth 
heartily  and  sincerely  as  he  ought,  may  defy  the  very 
gates  of  hell,  for  they  will  never  be  able  to  prevail  against 
him ;  whereas,  they  who  make  no  conscience  of  these 
great  duties,  are  in  continual  danger  of  being  caught  in 
the  next  trap  that  shall  be  laid  for  them. 

Thus  now  you  see  what  are  the  chief  things  in  which 
you  ought  to  be  steadfast ;  you  ought  to  be  steadfast  in  the 
Apostles'  doctrine,  steadfast  in  fellowship  or  communion, 
steadfast  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  steadfast  in  prayers  ;  and 
if  you  be  steadfast  in  these  things,  you  will  be  so  in  all 
things,  wherein  you  need  be  steadfast,  in  order  to  your  ob- 
taining eternal  bliss,  and  so  perform  the  first  duty  enjoin- 
ed in  my  text,  he  ye  steadfast. 

But  the  foundation  of  a  house  may  be  well  laid,  and 
the  superstructure  so  carefully  raised  that  it  may  continue 
strong  and  steadfast  for  some  time,  and  3^et  nevertheless, 
such  storms  and  tempests  may  afterwards  beat  upon  it,  as 
may  make  it  shake  and  move  to  and  fro,  and  at  last,  per- 
haps, fall  down  to  the  ground  again  ;  so  it  is  in  religion  : 
a  man  may  be  well  grounded  in  the  fundamental  articles 
of  our  Christian  faith,  and  make  some  considerable  pro- 
gress in  the  practice  of  it,  so  as  to  continue  steadfastly  for 
a  while  in  it,  and  yet  after  all  may,  by  the  violence  of 
temptations,  or  some  other  way,  be  moved  and  seduced 
from  it ;  and  therefore,  as  the  apostle  adviseth  us,  not  only 
to  be  steadfast,  but  unmoveable  too,  as  the  house  which  our 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  165 

Lord  saith  was  built  upon  a  rock,  and  the  rains  descended, 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon 
that  house,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  built  upon  a  rock, 
Mat.  vii.  25,  or,  as  the  same  apostle  elsewhere  expresseth 
it,  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight 
of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive,  Eph.  iv.  14. 

This  was  a  necessary  caution  in  those  days,  and  so  it 
is  in  ours,  there  being  so  much  sleight  and  cunning  crafti- 
ness used  now,  to  pervert  and  draw  men  from  the  Church, 
if  not  much  more  than  ever  ;  and,  therefore,  all  that  mind 
religion  in  good  earnest,  so  as  to  obtain  the  end  of  their 
faith,  even  the  salvatio»of  their  souls,  had  need  to  have 
a  care,  and  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  tossed  to  and  fro 
with  every  new  wind  of  doctrine  that  is  raised  among  us, 
but  only  to  resolve,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  continue  not 
only  firm  and  steadfast  to  the  Church,  but  immoveable,  as 
the  rock  upon  which  it  is  built ;  for  which  purpose,  there- 
fore, you  must  not  give  heed  to  those  seducing  spirits, 
which  would  draw  you  offfrom  the  Church,  under  the  pre- 
tence of  greater  purity,  stricter  devotion,  or  higher  perfec- 
tion, than  is  commonly  practised,  or  can  be  obtained  in  it  ; 
for  this  is  an  old  artifice,  which  the  devil  hath  made  use  of 
all  along,  to  impose  upon  well-meaning  people  :  if  he 
should  appear  in  his  own  colors  as  the  prince  of  dark- 
ness, all  men  would  withstand  him,  or  else  run  from 
him  ;  and  therefore  he  transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of 
light,  and  under  that  disguise  he  insinuates  himself  into 
ignorant  and  unwary  people,  and  carrieth  them  captive  as 
he  pleaseth  ;  this  we  may  be  sure  of,  for  St.  Paul  saith  it, 
2  Cor.  xi.  14.  And  a  greater  than  St.  Paul,  Christ  him- 
self, forewarns  us  of  the  same  thing,  saying,  Bevmre  of 
8* 


166       STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

false  prophets^  which  come  to  you  in  sheep^s  clothing,  but 
inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves,  Matt.  vii.  15,  whereby 
he  plainly  intimates,  that  there  will  always  be  false  pro- 
phets in  the  Church,  such  as  the  devil  sends  upon  his  er- 
rands, but  that  he  will  always  send  them  in  sheep's  cloth- 
ing, like  innocent  and  harmless  lambs,  whereas,  in  truth, 
they  are  ravening  wolves,  sent  on  purpose  to  devour  and 
destroy  the  flock ;  but  our  Saviour  bids  us  to  beware  of 
them  ;  and  so  we  had  need  be,  for  it  was  by  such  that  all 
the  errors,  heresies,  and  schisms,  that  ever  infested  the 
Church,  were  first  sown  in  it. 

And,  indeed,  as  Christ  and  his  Apostles  foretold  it,  so 
there  always  have  been  such  false  prophets  and  false 
teachers  in  the  Church,  who,  under  the  color  of  greater 
purity  in  doctrine  and  worship,  have  seduced  men  into  all 
manner  of  heresy  and  sin.  This  know,  saith  the  apostle, 
that  in  the  latter  days  perilous  times  shall  come  ;  for  men 
shall  be  lovers  of  themselves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud — hav- 
ing a  form  or  show  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power  there- 
of; from  which  turn  away  ;  for  of  this  sort  are  they  which 
creep  into  houses,  and  lead  captive  silly  women  laden  with 
sin,  led  away  with  divers  lusts,  2  Tim.  iii.  1,  2,  5,  6.  Such 
were  they  in  the  primitive  Church,  that  called  themselves, 
Tovg  xadaoovg^  the  pure,  as  pretending  to  be  more  pure  and 
holy  than  others ;  such  have  been  in  all  ages,  and  such 
there  are  in  ours,  who  blame  our  Reformation  as  defec- 
tive, as  if  the  Church  were  not  reformed,  not  purged 
enough  from  the  errors  it  had  before  contracted ;  but  if 
such  would  lay  aside  all  prejudices,  and  impartially  con- 
sider the  constitution  of  our  Church  as  it  is  now  reformed, 
they  might  clearly  see,  that  as  there  is  nothing  defective, 
so  neither  is  there  anything  superstitious  in  it,  but  that  it 
exactly  answers  the  pattern  of  the  primitive  and  apostoli- 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  167 

cal  Church  itself,  as  near  as  it  is  possible  for  a  national 
Church  to  do  it ;  insomuch,  that  they  who  truly  believe 
all  that  she  teaches,  and  practice  all  that  she  requireth, 
may  be  as  pure  and  holy  as  any  of  the  first  Christians,  or 
the  Apostles  themselves,  were,  or  can  be,  so  long  as  they 
continue  in  the  Church  militant  here  on  earth  ;  and  there- 
fore, instead  of  making  such  frivolous  and  groundless  ex- 
ceptions against  our  Church,  do  but  you  sincerely  believe, 
and  live  as  you  are  there  taught,  and  you  will  be  as  pure 
and  holy  as  you  need  to  be  upon  earth,  and  as  happy  as 
you  ever  can  be  in  heaven,  and  will  be  so  far  from  being- 
moved  by  such  silly  arguments  to  leave  our  Church,  that 
nothing  will  be  able  to  move  you  to  it,  no,  not  any  seem- 
ing miracles  themselves,  which  is  the  highest  sort  of  ar- 
guments that  can  be  used  in  matters  of  religion. 

For  our  holy  religion  having  been  confirmed  by  many 
undoubted  miracles,  wrought  for  that  purpose  by  Christ 
and  his  Apostles,  many  have  pretended  miracles  for  the 
confirmation  of  their  private  opinions  in  it,  howsoever  er- 
roneous and  contrary  to  the  nature  of  that  religion  which 
was  so  established  ;  which,  therefore,  cannot  possibly  be 
real  miracles,  such  as  were  at  first  wrought  for  the  con- 
firmation of  our  religion  in  general,  but  they  must  be  de- 
lusions either  of  men  or  devils ;  for  God  having  confirm- 
ed the  Scripture,  which  is  the  standard  of  our  religion, 
by  miracles,  nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  imagine 
that  he  should  work  miracles,  to  confirm  any  opinion  that 
is  contrary  to  the  said  Scriptures  ;  and  therefore  the  apos- 
tle saith,  though  we  or  an  angel  from  heaven  preach  any 
other  Gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  ice  have  preached 
unto  you  J  let  him  be  accursed^  Gal.  i.  S.  If  an  angel  should 
come  down  from  heaven,  with  all  his  rays  of  glory  and 
majesty  shining  about  him,  and  so  appear  visible  to  us  at 


168        STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

this  time,  this  would  certainly  be  a  very  great  miracle  ; 
yet  if  he  should  preach  any  other  Gospel  than  that  which 
we  have  received,  or  affirm  anything  contrary  to  what  is 
there  contained,  we  ought  not  to  believe  him,  but  rather 
defy  and  curse  him,  as  one  that  would  lead  us  out  of  the 
right  way  to  heaven. 

Neither  must  we  wonder  if  there  have  been,  or  really 
should  be,  strange  things  wrought  (which  look  like  mira- 
cles, though  they  are  not  so) ,  to  confirm  some  in  a  false 
religion,  to  draw  others  into  it ;  for  this  is  no  more  than 
what  Christ  himself  hath  foretold  shall  come  to  pass,  say- 
ing, There  shall  arise  false  ChristSy  and  fake  prophets  j  and 
shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders^  insomuch  that,  if  it 
were  possible^  they  should  deceive  the  very  elect^  Matt.  xxiv. 

24.  But  then  he  adds.  Behold  I  have  told  you  before y  ver. 

25,  and  so  forewarns  us  both  to  expect  and  slight  them, 
and  not  to  suffer  ourselves  to  be  moved  at  all  by  them, 
but  still  to  keep  close  to  that  more  sure  word  of  prophecy 
which  he  hath  delivered  to  us,  notwithstanding  all  the 
signs  and  wonders  that  ever  were,  or  ever  can  be,  wrought 
to  divert  us  from  it ;  and  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  us,  that 
our  Lord  himself  here  plainly  intimates,  that  whatsoever 
becomes  of  others,  it  is  not  possible  for  the  elect,  who 
truly  love  and  fear  God,  to  be  deceived  by  them. 

But  the  greatest  danger  that  people  are  in,  of  being  per- 
verted or  seduced  into  error,  heresy,  schism,  or  supersti- 
tion, is  from  their  own  lusts  and  passions,  which  either 
corrupt  or  overpower  their  judgments,  and  then  carry 
them  headlong  into  anything  that  seems  to  gratify  their 
prevailing  humors,  especially  the  love  of  this  world  ;  the 
hope  of  getting,  or  the  fear  of  losing  something  in  it, 
commonly  stifles  all  the  sense  that  people  have  of  reli- 
gion, or  else  puts  them  upon  acting  contrary  to  it.     This 


CHURCH   RECOMMENDED.  169 

our  Lord  himself  observes,  where  he  tells  us,  that  the 
care  of  this  world^  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches^  choke  the 
wordy  and  make  it  become  unfruitful .,  Matt.  xiii.  22  Demas 
hath  forsaken  me,  saith  St.  Paul,  having  loved  this  present 
world,  2  Tim.  iv.  10.  There  have  been  many  such  De- 
mas's  in  all  ages,  who  out  of  love  to  this  world,  and  pre- 
ferring it  before  the  favor  of  God  and  their  own  eternal  hap- 
piness, have  apostatized  not  only  from  the  true  religion  to 
a  false  one,  but  from  all  religion  to  none  at  all :  and  ver- 
ily it  is  no  wonder ;  for  the  love  of  money ,  as  St.  Paul 
saith,  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  1  Tim.  vi.  10,  and  therefore 
must  needs  be  inconsistent  with  the  love  of  God,  the  chief- 
est  of  all  goods,  as  St.  John  tells  us,  1  Johnii.  15.  Inso- 
much, that  whosoever  really  loves  the  world,  may  be  con- 
fident that  he  doth  not  really  love  God  ;  and  he  that  doth 
not  really  love  God,  will  be  easily  tempted  to  leave  his 
service,  whensoever  it  comes  into  competition  with  that 
which  he  prefers  before  it. 

Hence  also  it  comes  to  pass,  that  as  some  are  allured 
from  their  religion  by  the  hopes  of  gaining,  others  are  af- 
frighted out  of  it  by  the  fear  of  losing,  this  world,  or  some- 
thing in  it  which  they  love  better ;  as  their  estates,  their 
honor,  their  ease,  their  liberty,  or  their  life.  These  are 
things  that  are  very  dear  to  most  men  ;  and  therefore,  al- 
though they  be  not  really  in  any  danger,  yet  if  they  do 
but  fear  it,  many  are  ready  to  do  anything  to  prevent  it, 
even  to  the  parting  with  their  religion  itself,  if  they  ima- 
gine that  will  do  it.  We  have  had  many  instances  of  this 
in  all  ages.  God  grant  that  we  may  have  none  in  ours, 
at  least,  not  among  us  ;  for  which  end,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  get  our  minds  possessed  with  a  true  fear  of  God 
above  all  things  in  the  world  besides,  and  then  we  shall 
never  be  moved  with  the  fear  of  anything  else,  according 


170   STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

to  that  remarkable  promise  that  God  hath  made  us,  Iwi  . 
put  imjfear  into  their  hearts^  that  they  shall  not  depart  from 
me,  Jer,  xxxii.  40.  Which  we  see  notably  exemplified 
in  St.  Paul,  who,  having  the  fear  of  God  always  before 
his  eyes  and  in  his  heart,  could  never  be  moved  from  his 
duty  unto  God,  by  all  the  dangers  and  troubles  he  met 
with  in  it ;  The  Holy  Ghost y  saith  he,  witnesseth  in  every 
city,  saying  J  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  tne.  But  none 
of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself^  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy ^  and  the 
ministry  which  1  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus ,  to  testify 
the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  Acts  xx.  23,  24.  I^one 
of  these  things  move  me !  O  blessed  temper  of  mind  ! 
This  is  to  be  unmoveable  indeed,  when  nothing  is  able  to 
move  us  from  our  duty  to  God,  but  we  still  continue  firm 
and  constant  to  that,  whatsoever  it  costs  us.  So  that  the 
apostle  here  teacheth  us,  by  his  own  example,  how  to  do 
that  which  he  requires  in  my  text,  saying.  Be  ye  steadfast , 
unmoveable. 

And  then  it  follows,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord,  which  may  well  follow  upon  the  former  ;  for 
if  we  be  unmoveable,  we  must  needs  be  always  abound- 
ing in  the  work  of  our  Lord  ;  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
that  is,  in  such  works  which  the  Lord,  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
the  supreme  Governor  of  the  world,  hath  set  us  to  do, 
whether  they  be  works  of  piety  to  himself,  or  of  justice 
and  charity  to  our  neighbor.  But  what  are  those  works 
of  piety  which  Almighty  God  hath  commanded  you  to  do 
to  himself }  He  hath  commanded  you  to  love  him  with 
all  your  hearts  and  souls,  with  all  your  might  and  mind. 
He  hath  commanded  you  to  sanctify  his  most  holy  name, 
and  to  make  him  your  only  fear  and  dread.  He  hath 
commanded  you  to  put  your  whole  trust  and  confidence 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  171 

on  him,  to  rejoice  continually  in  him,  and  to  give  up 
yourselves  v^^holly  unto  him.  He  hath  commanded  you 
to  submit  yourselves  to  his  divine  will,  and  to  make  it 
your  constant  care  and  study  to  please  and  honor  him. 
He  hath  commanded  you  to  read  and  hear  his  most  holy 
word,  to  pray  without  ceasing,  and  in  everything  to  give 
thanks  unto  him.  He  hath  commanded  you  frequently 
to  receive  the  mystical  body  and  blood  of  his  dear  Son, 
in  remembrance  of  that  death  which  he  underwent  for 
you.  In  short,  he  hath  commanded  you  to  worship 
and  glorify  him  both  in  your  souls  and  bodies,  which  are 
his. 

And  as  to  your  neighbors  ;  he  hath  commanded  you 
to  bear  no  malice  or  hatred  against  them,  but  to  love 
them  as  you  love  yourselves ;  to  honor  and  respect  your 
parents,  and  to  be  loyal,  obedient,  and  submissive  to  the 
king,  and  to  carry  yourselves  lowly  and  reverently  to  all 
your  governors  both  in  Church  and  State.  He  hath 
commanded  you  to  be  meek  and  humble  in  your  own 
eyes,  faithful  to  your  word,  just  and  righteous  in  all  your 
dealings.  He  hath  commanded  you  to  feed  the  hungry, 
to  clothe  the  naked,  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  comfort 
the  disconsolate,  to  relieve  the  oppressed,  to  help  the 
weak,  to  admonish  the  wicked,  to  love  your  very  ene- 
mies, and  to  be  true  and  trusty,  and  kind,  and  good,  and 
charitable  towards  all  men  ;  in  a  word,  he  hath  com- 
manded you,  that  whatsoever  you  would  that  men  should 
do  to  youj  that  you  do  even  so  to  them^  Matt.  vii.  12. 

These  are,  in  short,  those  works  of  the  Lord,  which 
we  are  here  commanded  not  only  to  do,  but  to  abound 
in ;  not  as  if  we  should  or  could  do  more  than  we  are 
commanded,  and  so  perform  works  of  supererogation  ;  for 
we  are  bound  to  do  all  we  can,  and  therefore  can  never 


172      STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

do  more  than  we  are  bound,  unless  we  can  do  more  than 
we  can,  which  is  impossible  ;  nay,  we  are  so  far  from 
being  able  to  do  more  than  we  are  commanded,  that 
when  we  have  done  all  that  is  commanded  us,  we  are 
still  commanded  to  say,  TVe  are  unprofitable  servants^  we 
have  done  what  was  our  duty  to  do^  Luke  xvii.  10. 

But  in  what  respect  then  are  we  to  be  always  abound- 
ing in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  both  to  ourselves  and  others  ? 
In  respect  of  ourselves,  we  are  to  be  always  abounding, 
by  growing  always  wiser  and  better,  and  doing  more  and 
more  good  if  it  be  possible  every  day  than  other,  accord- 
ing to  that  of  the  apostle  to  the  Thessalonians,  Further- 
more we  beseech  you,  brethren,  and  exhort  you  by  the  Lord 
Jesus,  that  as  ye  have  received  of  us  how  you  ought  to  walk 
and  to  please  God,  so  you  would  abound  more  and  more,  1 
Thess.  iv.  1.  And  therefore  you  must  not  content  your- 
selves with  the  exercise  only  of  some  graces,  or  with  the 
lower  degrees  of  any,  but  endeavor  to  be  always  adding 
one  grace  to  another,  and  one  degree  of  the  same  grace 
to  another,  still  advancing  higher  and  higher,  until  you 
come  to  the  highest  pitch  of  all :  this  St.  Peter  adviseth, 
where  he  saiih, Giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith  vir- 
tue, and  to  virtue  knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  temperance^ 
and  to  temperance  patience,  and  to  patience  godliness,  and 
to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly  kindness 
charity,  2  Pet.  i.  5,  6,  7.  But  then  he  adds,  If  these 
things  be  in  you  and  abound,  they  make  you  that  you  shall 
be  neither  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ver.  S,  so  that  it  seems  these  several 
graces  must  not  only  be,  but  abound,  in  us,  and  we  must 
abound  in  them,  by  multiplying  the  acts,  and  so  increas- 
ing the  habits,  of  them  every  day  more  and  more ;  and 
unless  we  thus  abound  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  we  can 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  173 

never  continue  steadfast  in  it ;  and  therefore  the  same  apos- 
tle concludes  his  said  Epistle,  saying  to  all  Christians,  as 
I  now  say  to  you,  Ye  therefore,  beloved ,  seeing  ye  knoiu 
these  things  before,  beware  lest  ye,  being  led  away  with  the 
error  of  the  wicked,  fall  from  your  own  steadfastness.  Bui 
grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour Jesus  Christ.  To  him  be  glory  both  now  and  for 
ever,  2  Pet.  iii.  17,  18.  Which  is  the  same  in  effect  with 
that  in  my  text  j  Be  ye  steadfast,  immoveable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

But  we  must  abound,  not  only  in  respect  of  ourselves, 
but  of  others  too,  so  as  to  strive  all  we  can  to  excel  one 
another  in  virtue  and  goodness,  to  be  strong  in  faith,  rich 
in  good  works,  eminent  in  meekness,  in  humility,  in  pa- 
tience, in  charity,  and  in  everything  that  is  pleasing  and 
acceptable  to  God ;  more  constant  in  our  devotions,  more 
frequent  at  the  communion,  more  reverent  in  the  wor- 
ship, more  fervent  in  the  service,  more  zealous  for  the 
glory  of  God,  more  sober  in  ourselves,  more  liberal  to 
the  poor,  more  just  to  all  men,  than  others  commonly 
are  ;  that  our  light  may  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  our  good  works,  and  glorify  our  Father  which  is  in 
heaven.  Matt.  v.  16,  or,  as  the  apostle  words  it,  that  we 
may  shine  as  lights  in  the  world,  Phil.  ii.  15.  That  all 
who  are  about  us  may  be  enlightened,  inflamed,  and  ex- 
cited by  our  example  to  serve  the  same  Master,  and  to 
prosecute  the  same  designs  that  we  do  in  the  world  ; 
even  to  glorify  him  that  sent  us  hither.  This  is  the  best 
way  to  convince  gainsayers  of  the  excellency  of  our  re- 
ligion, when  they  shall  see  us  who  profess  it  excel  others 
in  piety  and  virtue.  All  other  arguments  can  never  pre- 
vail upon  them  so  much  as  this  one.  But  this  would  be 
of  itself  sufficient  to  demonstrate,  that  our  religion  is  in- 


174        STEADFASTNESS  TO  THE  ESTABLISHED 

deed  the  best  religion  professed  in  the  world,  when  they 
who  profess  it  are  the  best  men  in  the  world,  not  only 
steadfast  and  unmoveahle^  but  always  abounding  in  the  ivorj^; 
of  our  Lord. 

And  verily  you  have  all  the  reason  and  encourage- 
ment imaginable  to  be  so,  forasmuch  as  you  know  (as 
the  apostle  here  adds)  that  "  your  labor  is  not  in  vain 
in  the  Lord,"  that  is,  whatsoever  pains  you  are  at,  what- 
soever care  you  take,  whatsoever  you  do  or  suffer  for  the 
Lord,  you  may  be  confident  it  will  be  worth  your  while. 
It  will  not  be  in  vain  or  to  no  purpose ;  for  the  Lord  you 
serve  is  so  good  a  Master,  that  he  will  be  sure  to  reward 
and  recompense  you  for  all  the  service  you  ever  did  him  : 
not  as  if  you  could  merit  or  deserve  anything  from  him, 
by  doing  that  which  he  himself  enables  you  to  do  for  him, 
but  because  he  is  graciously  pleased  to  give  eternal  life 
to  all  who  sincerely  endeavor  to  serve  him,  not  for  their 
own,  but  for  Christ  Jesus'  sake.  And  that  is  the  reason 
why  the  apostle  saith,  that  "  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in 
the  Lord,"  that  is,  in  the  Lord  Christ ;  in  whom,  and  in 
whom  alone,  God  is  pleased  both  to  accept  of  what  you 
do  in  this  world,  and  to  reward  you  for  it  in  the  next ; 
where  you  shall  live  with  him,  and  enjoy  his  love  and 
favor,  and  all  the  good  things  you  can  desire  for  ever ; 
where  your  minds  shall  be  so  perfectly  enlightened,  that 
you  shall  see  him  face  to  face,  and  your  wills  so  perfect- 
ly sanctified,  that  all  your  inclinations  shall  rest  in  him, 
as  iheir  only  centre  ;  where  you  shall  always  live  in  per- 
fect peace  with  him,  yourselves,  and  one  another  ;  where 
you  shall  never  know  what  care,  or  fear,  or  trouble,  mean, 
but  shall  live  in  perfect  ease  and  quiet,  in  perfect  joy  and 
happiness,  and  in  the  highest  honor  and  glory  that  crea- 
tures are  capable  of  ;  where  ye  will  not  only  keep  com- 


CHURCH    RECOMMENDED.  175 

pan}^  with  the  holy  angels,  but  be  made  equal  to  them, 
and  fellow  commoners  with  them  in  the  pleasures  that 
are  at  God's  right  hand  for  evermore  :  where  your  bod- 
ies also  shall  be  incorruptible  and  immortal,  sound  and 
healthful,  quick  and  nimble,  brisk  and  lively,  and  every 
way  like  to  the  glorious  body  of  Christ  himself.  In  short, 
where  you  shall  have  infinitely  more  glory,  comfort,  and 
felicity,  than  you  could  ever  deserve,  yea,  infinitely  more 
than  you  can  as  yet  imagine  or  desire. 

And  although  God  will  confer  all  this  upon  you,  only 
out  of  his  infinite  mercy  in  Jesus  Christ,  yet  the  more 
you  now  abound  in  serving  him,  the  more  he  will  then 
abound  in  his  goodness  and  mercy  to  you.  And  hence 
it  is,  that  as  there  are  degrees  of  misery  and  torment 
among  the  damned  in  hell,  so  there  will  be  degrees  of 
glory  and  happiness  among  the  saints  in  heaven  ;  for  as 
one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory ^  so  also^  saith 
the  apostle,  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  1  Cor.  xv,  42. 
All  shall  shine  as  stars,  but  some  shall  be  of  one,  others 
of  another,  magnitude.  All  shall  have  as  much  joy  and 
bliss  as  they  are  capaljle  of,  but  some  shall  be  capable  of 
more  than  others,  even  they  who  have  had  more  love  and 
zeal  for  God,  and  have  done  and  suffered  more  for  him. 
Their  capacities  will  be  more  enlarged,  and  how  large 
soever  they  are,  they  will  be  all  filled  ;  all  shall  be  then 
happy,  who  are  now  sincerely  holy  ;  but  the  more  holy 
you  now  are,  the  more  happy  you  shall  then  be ;  the 
more  care  and  pains  you  take  here,  the  more  shall  be 
your  joy  and  glory  hereafter.  For  the  more  you  love 
and  honor  God  upon  earth,  the  more  shall  you  be  belov- 
ed and  honored  by  him  for  evermore  in  heaven.  "  There- 
fore, my  beloved  brethren,  by  ye  steadfast,  unmoveable, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as 
ye  know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 


SERMON    VII. 


ADMISSION  INTO  THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST,  BY  BAPTISM,  NECES- 
SARY  TO  SALVATION. 


John  hi.  5. 

Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily.  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spitit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Of  all  the  sort  of  creatures  we  know  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth,  there  are  none  but  what  observe  the  laws,  and 
answer  the  end,  of  their  creation,  except  mankind  :  but 
mankind  are  all  fallen  from  their  first  estate,  they  are  all 
gone  out  of  the  way  they  were  made  to  walk  in,  and  act 
quite  contrary  to  what  they  were  at  first  designed  to  do  ; 
and  therefore  might  justly  have  been  all  reserved,  to- 
gether with  the  fallen  angels,  m  everlasting  chains,  under 
darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.  But  the 
Almighty  Creator  of  all  things,  for  the  manifestation  of  his 
infinite  mercy  and  truth,  was  graciously  pleased  to  find 
out  a  way,  whereby  mankind  might  be  restored  to  their 
first  estate,  and  be  made  as  happy  again,  as  if  they  had 
never  fallen  from  it :  and  that  was  by  his  only-begotten 
Son,  who,  for  that  purpose,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  of 
one  substance  with  the  Father,  was  pleased  to  take  upon 
him  the  whole  nature  of  man,  uniting  it  to  his  own  divine 
Person,  and  then  to  ofier  it  up  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins 
and  offences  of  all  mankind,  by  being  obedient  in  it  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross  :  by  which  meaps  he  be- 


ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM.  177 

came  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  those  who  be" 
lieve.  So  that  all  men  are  capable  of  being  saved  by  him, 
and  they  who  believe  shall  most  certainly  be  so. 

For  he,  by  the  virtue  of  what  he  did  and  suffered  in 
their  nature,  and  being  himself  both  God  and  man,  is  the 
Mediator  between  God  and  them,  always  appearing  in 
the  presence  of  God,  and  there  making  intercession  for 
them  ;  that  God  would  be  graciously  pleased  to  accept 
of  his  death  instead  of  theirs,  and  for  his  sake  give  them 
all  things  necessary  both  for  life  and  godliness  ;  that  they 
may  become  such  as  may  be  accepted  of  in  him  as  right- 
eous, and  accordingly  inherit  eternal  life.  By  means  of 
this  mediation  or  intercession,  which  his  only-begotten 
SoUj  in  whom  he  is  well  pleased^  is  continually  making  in 
heaven  for  them,  the  Almighty  Creator  and  Governor  of 
the  world  is  so  far  reconciled  to  them,  that  he  looks  upon 
them  as  his  own  children,  takes  them  into  his  own  parti- 
cular care,  works  in  them  both  to  will  and  to  do  what  he 
would  have  them,  prevents,  directs,  and  assists  them 
by  his  Holy  Spirit  in  what  they  do,  and  makes  all  things 
work  together  for  their  good  ;  that  they  may  serve  him 
faithfully  while  they  are  upon  earth,  and  be  duly  qualified 
to  live  with  him  and  his  holy  angels  in  heaven  :  and  then 
he  takes  them  to  himself,  that  they  may  enjoy  him  there, 
and  praise  him  for  ever,  for  all  the  blessings  and  favors 
which  they  have  received  through  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  above  all,  for  him,  through  whom  they  have  received 
them. 

Now  seeing  all  his  hopes  of  heaven,  and  of  all  things 
relating  to  our  coming  thither,  are  grounded  wholly  upon 
what  our  blessed  Saviour  is  there  doing  for  us  ;  we  who 
hope  to  obtain  that  glorious  kingdom,  through  his  merits 
and  mediation  for  us,  must  take  special  care  to  observe  an 


178  ADMISSION    BV    BAPTISM, 

do  whatsoever  he  requires  in  order  thereunto  ;  and  parti- 
cularly what  he  saith  in  the  words  which  I  have  now 
read.  For  here  we  see,  that  notwithstanding  all  that  he  suf- 
fered upon  earth,  and  is  now  doing  in  heaven  for  man- 
kind, yet  he  positively  asserts,  that  except  a  man  he  horn 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom  of  God.  He  doth  not  only  say,  that  such  a  one  shall 
not,  but  he  cannot,  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  that 
none  may  ever  expect  it,  but  that  all  may  look  upon  it  as 
a  thing  impossible. 

But  the  better  to  clear  the  way  for  our  finding  out  the 
true  sense  and  meaning  of  the  words,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  look  back  a  little,  and  see  how  they  come  in.  Nico- 
demus,  a  ruler  of  the  Jews,  hearing  of  the  miracles  which 
our  Saviour  did,  could  not  but  from  thence  conclude, 
that  he  was  a  teacher  come  from  God  ;  and  therefore  had  a 
great  mind  to  learn  something  of  him  :  for  which  purpose 
he  came  to  him,  but,  for  fear  of  offending  his  brethren  the 
Pharisees,  he  came  by  night.  And  while  they  were 
discoursins:  tog-ether,  our  Saviour  took  occasion  to  ac- 
quaint  him,  that  except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God,  ver.  3.  Nicodemus,  not  rightly  un- 
derstanding his  meaning,  wondered  at  the  expression, 
and  said.  How  can  a  man  be  horn  when  he  is  old  ?  Can 
he  enter  the  second  time  into  his  mothers  womb,  and  be 
born?  ver.  4.  Our  Lord,  not  regarding  the  absurdity 
of  such  a  question,  but  pitying  the  man's  weakness,  ex- 
pressed his  meaning  in  fuller  and  plainer  terms,  saying. 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  JExcept  a  man  be  born  of 
icater  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  h.to  the  kingdom 
of  God.  He  useth  the  same  asseveration  that  he  did  be- 
fore. Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee ;  that  Nicodemus 
might  take  the  more  notice  of  it,  and  believe  it  upon  his 


NECESSARY    TO    SALVATION.  17 J 

word,  whom  he  had  before  acknowledged  to  be  a  teacher 
come  from  God.  And  although  these  words  were  spoken 
only  to  Nicodemus,  they  are  left  upon  record,  for  the 
benefit  of  all  mankind ;  that  all  who  expect  the  kingdom 
of  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  may  know  jfrom  his  own  mouth, 
that  none  can  enter  into  that  kingdom,  except  they  he  horn 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 

That  by  the  kingdom  of  God,  or,  as  it  is  elsewhere 
called,  the  kingdmn  of  heaven,  in  holy  Scripture,  is  com- 
monly meant  that  high  and  holy  place,  where  the  saints 
and  the  servants  of  God  enjoy  perpetual  rest  and  felicity, 
none  ever  doubted ;  and  therefore  I  need  not  stand  to 
prove  it,  but  shall  only  observe,  that  his  expression  is 
used  also  in  a  larger  sense,  not  only  for  the  place  itself, 
but  likewise  for  the  way  that  leads  to  it,  that  also  being 
wholly  under  the  rule  and  governance  of  Almighty  God. 
And  seeing  he  always  added  to  the  Church  those  who 
shall  be  saved,  or  inherit  eternal  life  and  glory  in  heaven. 
Acts  ii,  47,  therefore  the  Church  militant  upon  earth,  as 
well  as  that  which  is  triumphant  in  heaven,  is  called  also 
the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and  not  only  that  part  of  it  which  is 
invisible,  as  being  governed  by  the  secret  influence  of 
God's  special  grace  and  Holy  Spirit ;  but  also  the  visible, 
consisting  of  all  that  profess  the  true  faith  and  fear  of 
God,  although  many  of  them  do  no  more  than  only  pro- 
fess it.  And  therefore  our  Saviour  himself  compares  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  to  a  field  wherein  tares  are  sown  as 
loell  as  wheat,  Matt.  xiii.  24,  25,  and  to  a  ?iet,  that,  being 
cast  into  the  sea,  gathereth  every  kind  of  fish,  both  good 
and  bad,  ver.  47.  But  howsoever,  as  once  the  whole 
nation  of  the  Jews,  both  good  and  bad,  w^ere  the  people 
of  God,  and  had  him  in  a  peculiar  manner  for  their  King  : 
so  now  the  whole  Church  of  Christ,  or  the  congregation 


180  ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM, 

of  faithful  people  all  the  world  over,  is  properly  the  king- 
dom of  God,  where,  in  the  administration  of  his  Word 
and  Sacraments,  he  exerciseth  his  power  in  the  hearts  of 
men,  enlightening,  renewing,  and  sanctifying  them  so  as 
to  fit  them  to  live  with  him  in  the  other  world,  and  then 
he  translates  them  into  his  kingdom  in  heaven,  or  rather 
to  that  part  of  his  kingdom  that  is  there  settled  : 
for,  properly  speaking,  it  is  one  and  the  same  kingdom, 
in  different  places,  and  under  different  circumstances  ; 
here  it  is  militant,  there  triumphant  ;  here  it  consisteth  of 
sinners  as  well  as  saints,  there  they  are  all  saints  ;  here  the 
saints  themselves  have  many  imperfections  in  them,  there 
they  are  all  perfect.  But  though  many  may  be  admitted 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  and  yet,  through 
their  own  default,  may  not  get  to  that  which  is  in  heaven  ; 
yet  none  can  get  to  that  which  is  in  heaven,  but  only  such 
as  are  first  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth. 
Now  he  who  purchased  this  kingdom  for  mankind, 
and  is  himself  the  head  of  it,  here  tells  us,  that  except 
a  man  be  horn  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  it. 
Immediately  before  he  had  said,  that  except  a  man  be 
horn  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God;  to  show 
the  necessity  of  a  man's  being  regenerated,  and  made  an- 
other kind  of  creature  than  he  was  at  first  born,  before 
he  can  be  capable  of  seeing  or  enjoying  the  privileges 
and  delights  of  that  kingdom.  But  here,  speaking  of  be- 
ing born  of  water  and  the  SpiHt,  he  alters  the  phrase,  and 
saith,  without  that  a  man  cannot  enter  it;  he  cannot  so  much 
as  be  admitted  into  it,  or  made  a  member  of  that  king- 
dom, so  as  to  have  any  right  or  title  to  the  delights  and 
privileges  of  it.  We  have  the  word  of  Christ  himself  for 
it,  and  therefore  may  well  believe  it :  for  it  is  he  who 
rules  and  governs  this  kingdom  ;  it  is  his  own,  he  takes 


NECESSARY    TO    SALVATION.  ISi 

in  and  keeps  out  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  how  he  please ih 
to  do  it.  And  therefore  it  is  not  for  us  to  argue  the  case 
with  him,  why  he  hath  made  this  or  that  way  for  our  en- 
trance into  his  kino;dom.  We  must  give  him  thanks 
that  he  hath  made  any  way  at  all  for  it,  and  take  care  to 
go  in  that  way  which  he  hath  made,  as  ever  we  desire  to 
enter  in  at  all ;  and  that  is  by  being  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit ;  for  he  himself  here  saith,  that  except  a  man 
he  sOj  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

But  what  he  means  by  being  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit  J  is  now  made  a  question  :  I  say  now  ;  for  it  was 
never  made  so  till  of  late  years  :  for  many  ages  together 
none  ever  doubted  it,  but  the  whole  Christian  world  took 
it  for  granted,  that  our  Saviour,  by  these  words,  meant 
only,  that  except  a  man  be  baptized  according  to  his  in- 
stitution, he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  this 
being  the  most  plain  and  obvious  sense  of  the  words, 
forasmuch  as  there  is  no  other  way  of  being  born  again 
of  water  as  well  as  of  the  Spirit,  but  only  in  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Baptism. 

To  understand  what  he  means  by  being  born  again, 
we  must  call  to  mind  what  he  saith  in  another  place. 
J\Iy  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world^  John  xviii.  36, 
though  it  is  in  this  world,  it  is  not  of  it ;  it  is  not  a  secu- 
lar or  earthly  kingdom,  but  a  kingdom  purely  spiritual 
and  heavenly  :  it  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness 
and  peace  J  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost ,  Rom.  xiv.  17. 
And  therefore  when  a  man  is  born  into  this  world,  he  is 
not  thereby  qualified  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  nor  hath 
any  right  or  title  to  it,  no  more  than  as  if  he  had  not  been 
born  at  all ;  but  before  he  enter  into  that,  he  must  be 
born  again,  he  must  undergo  another  kind  of  birth  than  he 
had  before  :  he  was^before  born'of  the  flesh,  he  must  now  be 
9 


18*^  ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM, 

born  of  the  Spirit ;  otherwise  he  cannot  be  capable  of 
entering  into  such  a  kingdom  as  is  altogether  spiritual. 
Thus  our  Lord  himself  explains  his  own  meaning  in  my 
text,  by  adding  immediately  in  the  next  words,  That 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh  ;  and  that  which  is  born  of 
the  Spirit  is  spirit,  ver.  6.  As  if  he  had  said,  he  that  is 
born,  as  all  men  are  at  first,  only  of  the  flesh,  such  a  one 
is  altogether  carnal  and  sensual  ;  and  so  can  be  affected 
with  nothing  but  the  sensible  objects  of  this  world ;  but 
he  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  thereby  becomes  a 
spiritual  creature,  and  so  is  capable  of  those  spiritual 
things  of  which  the  kingdom  of  God  consisteth,  even  of 
nghteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
he  whose  mind  is  changed,  and  turned  from  darkness  to 
light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  is  truly 
said  to  be  born  again,  because  he  is  quickened  with  an- 
other kind  of  life  than  he  had  before  ;  and  to  be  born 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  because  it  is  by  it  that  this  new 
and  spiritual  life  is  wrought  in  him.  So  that  he  is  now 
born  into  another  world,  even  into  the  kingdom  of  God, 
where  he  hath  God  himself,  of  whom  he  is  born,  for  his 
Father  ;  and  the  kingdom  of  God  for  his  portion  and  in- 
heritance. And  therefore  it  is,  that  except  a  man  be  thus 
born  of  the  Spirit,  it  is  impossible  he  should  enter  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;  seeing  he  can  enter  into  it  in  no  other 
way  than  by  being  born  of  the  Spirit. 

But  that  we  may  be  thus  born  of  the  Spirit,  we  must 
be  born  also  of  water,  which  our  Saviour  here  puts  in 
the  first  place.  Not  as  if  there  was  any  such  virtue  in 
water,  whereby  it  could  regenerate  us  ;  but  because  this 
is  the  rite  or  ordinance  appointed  by  Christ,  wherein  to  re- 
generate us  by  his  Holy  Spirit ;  our  regeneration  is  wholly 
the  act  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ.     But  there  must  be  some- 


NECESSARY  TO  SALVATION.       183 

thing  done  on  our  parts  in  order  to  it ;  and  something  that  is 
instituted  and  ordained  by  Christ  himself,  which  in  the 
Old  Testament  was  circumcision,  in  the  New,  baptism, 
or  washing  with  water  ;  the  easiest  that  could  be  invent- 
ed, and  the  most  proper  to  signify  his  cleansing  and  re- 
generating us  by  his  Holy  Spirit.  And  seeing  this  is  insti- 
tuted by  Christ  himself,  as  we  cannot  be  born  of  water 
without  the  Spirit,  so  neither  can  we,  in  an  ordinary  way, 
be  born  of  the  Spirit  without  water,  used  or  applied  in 
obedience  and  conformity  to  his  institution  ;  Christ  hath 
joined  them  together,  and  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  part 
them  ;  he  that  would  be  born  of  the  Spirit,  must  be  born 
of  water  too. 

This  is  that  which  the  apostle  also  teacheth  us,  where 
he  saith  that  God  our  Saviour,  according  to  his  mercy, 
saves  us  by  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  by  the  renew' 
ing  of  the  Holy  Ghosi^T'ii.  iii.  5.  By  the  w^ashing  with 
water,  as  the  sign  of  our  regeneration,  and  by  the  renew- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  the  thing  signified,  which  is 
the  same  in  effect  with  our  being  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit^  and  a  clear  explication  of  it. 

But  how  we  come  to  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit 
together  in  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  appears  most 
clearl}?  from  the  commission  which  our  Lord  gave  for  the 
administration  of  it,  saying  to  his  Apostles,  Go  ye  there- 
fore^  and  make  all  nations  disciples^  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father^  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghosty 
Matt,  xxviii.  19.  So  the  w^ords  in  the  original  plainly 
signify  and  ought  to  be  translated.  I  know  that  our 
own,  and  other  European  translations,  render  the  words, 
Go  ye  and  teach  all  nations ,  baptizing  them,  &c.,  which 
gave  the  first  occasion  to  the  sect  of  the  Anabaptists : 
for  ignorant    people,  imagining  that  our   Saviour  here 


184  ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM, 

commanded  that  all  nations  should  be  first  taught,  and 
then  baptized,  from  thence  concluded,  that  none  ought 
to  be  baptized,  till  they  are  first  taught  the  principles  of 
the  Christian  religion  ;  but  the  original  word  fiudjjTeTuuaze 
will  bear  no  such  sense  ;  for  it  never  signifies  to  teach, 
but  only  to  be,  or  to  make,  disciples,  as  Matt,  xxvii.  57  ; 
xiii.  52.  Acts  xiv.  21.  And  so  it  is  constantly  trans- 
lated in  all  the  oriental  versions  ;  and  therefore  we  never 
heard  of  any  Anabaptists  in  the  Eastern  Churches  :  and 
there  would  have  been  none  among  us,  if  people  did  but 
rightly  understand  the  Scriptures,  and  particularly  these 
words  of  our  Saviour ;  in  w  hich  he  is  so  far  from  requir- 
ing it  as  necessary  that  people  should  be  taught  before 
they  are  baptized,  that  he  requires  that  to  be  done  after- 
wards, saying  in  the  words  follow^ing,  I'eaching  them  to 
observe  all  that  I  have  commanded  you,  ver.  20. 

But  whosoever  understands  and  consults  the  original 
words  in  this  text,  wdll  plainly  see,  that  our  Saviour's 
meaning  is,  that  not  only  Jews,  but  all  nations,  should 
be  made  his  disciples,  by  being  baptized  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  and, 
by  consequence,  that  this  is  the  way  w  hereby  to  be  boj'n 
of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit,  as  he  speaks  in  my  text. 
For  as  baptizing  necessarily  implies  the  use  of  water,  so 
our  being  made  thereby  disciples  of  Christ,  as  necessarily 
implies  our  partaking  of  his  Spirit  :  for  all  that  are  bap- 
tized, and  so  made  the  disciples  of  Christ,  are  thereby 
made  the  members  of  his  body  ;  and  are  therefore  said 
to  be  baptized  into  Christ,  Rom.  vi.  3,  Gal.  iii.  27.  But 
they  who  are  in  Christ,  members  of  his  body,  must  needs 
partake  of  the  Spirit  that  is  in  him  their  head.  Neither 
doth  the  Spirit  of  Christ  only  follow  upon,  but  certainly 
accomj)anies,  the  Sacrament  of  l^aptism,  when  duly  ad- 


NECESSARY    TO    SALVATION.  185 

ministered  according  to  his  institution.  For,  as  St.  Paul 
saith,  by  one  Spirit  we  are  all  baptized  into  one  body^  1 
Cor.  xii.  13.  So  that  in  the  very  act  of  baptism,  the 
Spirit  unites  us  unto  Christ,  and  makes  us  members  of  his 
body  ,•  and  if  of  his  body,  then  of  his  church  and  king- 
dom, that  being  all  his  body.  And  therefore  all  who  are 
rightly  baptized  with  water,  being  at  the  same  time  bap- 
tized also  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  so  born  both  of  wa- 
ter and  the  Spirit,  they  are,  ipso  facto ^  admitted  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  established  upon  earth  ;  and  if  it  be  not 
their  own  fault,  will  as  certainly  attain  to  that  which  is 
in  heaven. 

Now  from  these  words  of  our  blessed  Saviour,  thus 
briefly  explained  from  what  he  himself  and  his  Apostles 
have  taught  us  in  other  places  of  the  holy  Scripture, 
many  inferences  may  be  raised,  which  are  of  great  use, 
and  much  to  be  observed,  especially  in  our  days,  wherein 
ignorant  people  are  seduced  by  the  devil  and  his  agents 
into  so  many  erroneous  and  dangerous  opinions  about  the 
holy  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  I  shall  instance  only  in 
those  which  are  most  proper  to  convince  such  of  their 
error,  and  confirm  others  in  the  truth.  From  hence,  there- 
fore, we  may  first  observe,  how  necessary  baptism  is  to  our 
entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  seeing  he,  by  whom 
alone  it  is  possible  for  any  man  to  enter  in,  hath  so  posi- 
tively affirmed,  that  none  can  enter  in,  except  they  be  bap- 
tized, or  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit  :  which  St.  Peter 
was  so  sensible  of,  that  when  some  asked  him,  and  the 
rest  of  the  Apostles,  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved  ?  he 
answered  roundly.  Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of 
you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of  sins, 
and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Acts  ii. 
38.     Whereby  he  doth  not  only  assure  them  in  the  name 


186  ADMISSION    BY   BAPTISM, 

of  God,  that  upon  their  being  baptized,  they  should  in- 
fallibly receive  the  Holy  Ghost  to  sanctify  and  regene- 
rate them  ;  but  this  is  the  tirst  and  great  thing  which  he 
adviseth  every  one  to,  as  without  which,  not  any  one 
of  them  could  ever  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
be  saved. 

And  the  same  apostle,  when  upon  his  first  preaching 
unto  the  Gentiles,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  them,  so  that 
they  immediately  spake  with  tongues,  although  some 
might  have  thought  there  had  been  no  need  of  baptizing 
them  who  had  already  received  the  Holy  Ghost ;  yet  he 
considering  that  this  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  only  to 
enable  them  to  speak  with  tongues,  not  to  regenerate 
them,  he  inferred  from  thence,  that  they  ought  the  rather 
to  be  baptized :  Can  any  many  saith  he,  forbid  water,  that 
these  should  not  be  baptized,  who  have  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  well  as  we  ?  Acts  x.  47.  And  therefore  com- 
manded them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  ver. 
48.  Which  he  would  never  have  done,  if  it  was  not 
necessary  for  them  to  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 
And  though  our  Lord  himself  appeared  to  Saul,  as  he 
was  going  to  Damascus,  and  called  him  with  his  own 
mouth,  yet  he  also  must  be  baptized,  before  he  could  be 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  so  made  a  disciple,  much 
less  an  apostle,  to  him  who  had  called  him.  Acts  ix.  17, 
18.  xxii.  16. 

There  are  many  such  places  in  holy  Scripture,  which 
show  the  great  necessity  of  baptism,  where  it  may  be 
had  ;  but  I  shall  add  only  these  remarkable  words,  which 
our  Saviour  spake  to  the  Apostles  after  his  resurrection  : 
He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved ;  but  he 
that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned,  Markxvi.  16,  Where 
we  see,  that  he,  by  whom  alone  it  is  possible  for  any 


NECESSARY    TO    SALVATION.  187 

man  to  be  saved,  makes  baptism  necessary  to  salvation 
as  well  as  faith :  he  saith  indeed,  He  that  helieveth  not 
shall  be  damned :  but  he  doth  not  say,  He  that  helieveth 
shall  be  saved,  whether  he  be  baptized  or  no  ;  but  he  that 
helieveth  and  is  baptized  :  as  all  to  be  sure  are,  or  at  least 
desire  to  be,  who  truly  believe  in  him.  For  all  who 
truly  believe  in  Christ  for  their  salvation,  must  believe 
what  he  hath  said  to  be  true,  and  accordingly  do  what- 
soever he  requires  in  order  to  it.  But  he  requires  all 
that  would  be  saved  by  him  to  be  first  baptized  into 
him  ;  and  as  plainly  asserts  in  my  text,  that  except  a  man 
be  born  of  watery  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God :  and  therefore  it  is  in  vain  to  ex- 
pect it. 

This  I  would  desire  all  here  present  to  take  special 
notice  of,  that  you  may  not  be  deceived  by  a  sort  of  peo- 
ple risen  up  among  us,  who  being  led,  as  they  pretend, 
by  a  light  within  them,  are  fallen  into  such  horrid  dark- 
ness and  damnable  heresies,  that  they  have  quite  laid 
aside  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  and  affirm,  in  flat  con- 
tradiction to  our  Saviour's  words,  that  they  may  be  saved 
without  it.  I  pray  God  to  open  their  eyes,  that  they 
may  not  go  blindfold  into  eternal  damnation.  And  I  ad- 
vise you  all,  as  you  desire  not  to  apostatize  from  the 
Christian  religion,  and  as  you  tender  your  eternal  salva- 
tion, take  heed  that  you  be  never  seduced  by  them,  un- 
der any  pretence  whatsoever ;  but  rather,  if  you  be  ac- 
quainted with  any  of  them,  do  what  you  can  to  turn  them 
from  darkness  to  light,  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God  again  ;  that  thpy  may  receive  forgiveness  of  their 
sins,  and  inheritance  among  them  who  are  sanctified  by 
faith  in  him,  who  said,  Except  a  man  he  born  of  water, 
&c. 


188  ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM, 


TSot  only  a  man,  in  contradiction  to  a  child,  or  a  wo- 
man, but,  as  it  is  in  the  original,  'Ed*'  /uri  n?,  except  any 
one,  any  human  creature,  whatsoever,  man,  woman,  or 
child,  except  he  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit^  he 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  So  that  our  Lord 
is  so  far  from  excluding  children  from  baptism,  that  he 
plainly  includes  them  ;  speaking  in  such  general  terms, 
on  purpose  that  we  may  know,  that  no  sort  of  people, 
old  or  young,  can  ever  be  saved  without  it.  And  so  he 
doth  too,  where  he  commands,  as  was  observed  before,  that 
all  nations  should  be  made  disciples^  by  being  baptized  In 
the  name  of  the  Father^  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost :  for,  under  all  nations,  children  must  needs  be 
comprehended,  which  make  a  great,  if  not  the  greatest 
part  of  all  nations.  And  although  these  general  expres- 
sions be  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  necessity  of  infant 
baptism,  yet  foreseeing  that  ignorant  and  unlearned  peo-.- 
pie  would  be  apt  to  wrest  the  Scriptures  to  their  own 
destruction,  he  elsewhere  commands  children  particularly 
to  be  brought  unto  him,  saying.  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  »?e,  and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such  is  the 
fdngdom  of  God,  Mark  x.  14.  But  if  the  kingdom  of 
God  consists  of  children,  as  well  as  other  people,  they 
must  of  necessity  be  baptized,  or  born  of  water  and  the 
Spirit ;  for  otherwise  he  himself  saith,  they  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom. 

Hence  it  is,  that  we  find  the  Apostles  often  baptizing 
whole  families,  children,  if  any,  as  well  as  others  :  and 
the  whole  catholic  Church,  in  all  places  and  ages  ever 
since,  hath  constantly  admitted  the  children  of  believing 
parents  into  the  Church,  by  baptizing  them  according  to 
ihe  institution  and  command  of  our  Saviour  ;  none  ever 
making  any   question  of  it,  but   all   Christians,  all  the 


NECESSARY  TO  SALVATION.       189 

world  over,  taking  it  for  granted,  that  it  ought  to  be 
done,  till  of  late  years. 

But  of  late  years,  there  is  a  sect  sprung  up  among  us, 
who,  contrary  to  Christ's  command,  forbid  little  children 
to  be  brought  unto  him  by  baptism,  the  only  way  where- 
by it  is  possible  for  them  to  come  to  him  ;  and  so  make 
the  children  of  Christian  parents  in  a  worse  condition 
than  the  Jewish  were ;  and  the  Law  more  favorable 
than  the  Gospel.  How  they  will  answer  it  at  the  last 
day,  I  know  not :  but  I  know,  that  it  greatly  behooves  all 
that  have  any  care  of  their  own,  or  their  children's  good, 
to  take  heed  of  this  sort  of  people,  who  creep  into  houses, 
and  lead  captive  silly  women.,  laden  with  sins,  led  away 
with  divers  lusts,  2  Tim.  iii.  7.  And  by  good  words  and 
fair  speeches,  deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple,  Rom,  xvi. 
18.  But  they  must  be  very  simple  indeed,  who  suffer 
themselves  to  be  deceived  by  them,  who  so  directly  con- 
tradict our  Saviour's  words,  and  deny  that  to  children, 
without  which  he  himself  hath  said,  they  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

It  is  to  be  farther  observed,  that  our  Lord  here  saith, 
Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit :  of  wa- 
ter in  general,  without  specifying  how  much  or  how  lit- 
tle, or  how  to  be  applied,  whether  by  dipping,  or  wash- 
ing, or  sprinkling  ;  having  made  it  so  necessary,  he  hath 
made  it  likewise  as  easy  as  possible.  He  only  requires 
water,  the  most  common  thing  that  is,  to  be  used  and  ap- 
plied with  such  a  form  of  words  as  he  hath  prescribed, 
without  determining  the  quantity  or  any  other  circum- 
stances, which  might  sometimes  make  it  difficult  or  dan- 
o-erous,  or  perhaps  impracticable.  And  therefore,  al- 
though in  hot  countries  the  persons  baptized  were  usually 
dippe.i  in  water,  or  washed  all  over,  yet  the  washing  any 


190  ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM, 

one  part,  or  sprinkling  water  upon  them,  hath  the  same 
effect :  it  is  not  the  quantity  of  the  water,  but  the  insti- 
tution of  Christ,  to  which  the  promise  of  being  born 
again  is  annexed.  One  drop  of  water  serves  to  this  pur- 
pose as  well  as  a  river ;  and  one  part  of  the  body,  in  this 
case,  is  as  much  as  the  whole  :  as  we  learn  from  our 
Lord  and  Master  himself. 

For  when  he,  to  show  the  necessity  of  our  being  wash- 
ed by  him,  said  to  St.  Peter,  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast 
no  part  with  me  ;  St.  Peter  said  unto  him,  Lord^  not  my 
feet  only,  but  my  hands  and  my  head.  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  He  that  is  washed,  needeth  not,  save  to  wash  hisfeetj 
but  is  clean  every  whit,  John  xiii.  10.  Whereby  he  hath 
taught  us,  that  if  any  one  part,  as  the  face,  the  hands, 
the  feet,  have  water  applied  to  it,  according  to  his  pre- 
scription, and  so  is  washed  by  him,  the  whole  is  thereby 
cleansed  :  for  it  is  not  the  water  that  cleanseth,  but  the 
blood  of  Christ  signified  by  the  water,  applied  according 
to  his  institution,  which  is  therefore  called  the  blood  of 
sprinkling^  Heb.  xii.  24,  because  it  is  then  sprinkled 
upon  us.  St.  Peter  also  speaks  of  the  sprinkling  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christy  1  Pet.  i.  2  ,  which  is  most  plainly 
signified,  by  sprinkling  the  water  upon  the  person  bap- 
tized, according  to  the  custom  that  hath  prevailed  in  all  ex- 
cept in  very  hot  countries.  Which  seems  also  to  be  inti- 
mated by  God  himself  in  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  where, 
speaking  of  the  blessed  times  under  the  Gospel,  he  saith. 
Then  will  I  spiinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  bt 
clean.  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  Spirit 
will  I  put  within  you,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25,  26.  For  this  is 
the  same,  in  effect,  with  our  being  born  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,  as  our  Saviour  here  expresseth  it. 

But  after  all  we  must  observe,  that  although  our  bless- 


NECESSARY  TO  SALVATION.       191 

ed  Saviour  here  saith,  that  except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit^  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ; 
yet  he  doth  not  say,  that  every  one  that  is  so  born,  shall 
inherit  eternal  life.  It  is  true,  all  that  are  baptized,  or 
born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  are  thereby  admitted  into 
the  church  or  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth  ;  but  except 
they  submit  to  the  government,  and  obey  the  laws  estab- 
lished in  it,  they  forfeit  all  their  right  and  title  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  They  are  brought  into  a  state  of 
salvation,  but  unless  they  continue  in  it,  and  live  accord- 
ingly, they  cannot  be  saved.  For,  as  St.  Peter  observeth, 
baptism  now  saves  us,  not  the  putting  away  the  filth  of  the 
fleshy  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  towards  God 
by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  1  Pet.  iii.  21.  Bap- 
tism puts  us  into  the  way  to  heaven,  but  unless  we 
walk  in  that  way,  we  can  never  come  thither.  When 
we  were  baptized,  we  were  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit, 
so  as  to  have  the  seed  of  grace  sown  in  our  hearts,  suffi- 
cient to  enable  us  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit, 
to  overcome  temptations,  to  believe  aright  in  God  our 
Saviour,  and  to  obey  and  serve  him  faithfully  all  the 
days  of  our  life.  And  we  then  promised  to  do  so  ;  for 
being  asked,  whether  we  would  do  so  or  no,  we  answer- 
ed, by  ourselves  or  sureties,  that  we  would.  And  if  we 
afterwards  live  in  good  conscience  towards  God,  answer- 
ably  to  the  profession  and  promise  that  we  then  made  to 
him,  we  shall  certainly  be  saved  through  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  intercession  that  he  makes  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  for  us.  But  if  we  neglect  to  perform 
what  he  then  promised,  and  so  do  not  answer  the  end  of 
our  baptism,  by  keeping  our  consciences  void  of  offence 
towards  God  and  men,  we  lose  all  the  benefit  of  it,  and 


192  ADMISSION    BY    BAPTISM, 

shall  as  certainly  perish,  as  if  we  had  never  been  bap- 
tized. 

Wherefore,  brethren,  we  had  all  need  look  about  us: 
1  hope  there  are  none  here  present,  but  who  are  baptized, 
and  so  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit  :  if  there  be  any 
that  are  not,  I  must  advise  them  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves. Do  not  mind  what  ignorant  or  designing  people 
tell  you,  but  consider  what  Christ,  your  only  Saviour, 
hath  told  you :  he  hath  told  you,  that  except  ye  he  horn 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit^  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  And  if  ye  care  not  whether  ye  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  or  not,  ye  may  still  continue  as  ye 
are,  without  Chri&t^  aliens  from  the  conimomceallh  of 
Israel^  and  strangers  from  the  covenants  of  promise,  having 
no  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  uorldj  Eph.  ii.  12,  as 
mere  heathens  as  any  in  the  Indies,  and  in  a  worse  con- 
dition than  they  :  forasmuch  as  ye  live  in  a  place  where 
ye  may  be  made  Christians  if  ye  M^ili :  and  if  ye  will  not, 
it  will  be  more  tolerable  for  them,  than  for  you,  at  the 
last  da3\  But  if  ye  desire  to  be  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints,  and  of  the  household  and  kingdom  of  God,  put  off 
your  baptism  no  longer.  It  was  your  parents'  fault  that 
you  were  not  baptized  before  ;  it  is  your  own  if  ye  be  not 
baptized  now  ;  and  therefore  be  advised  to  fit  yourselves 
for  it,  as  soon  as  possible  ;  lest  as  ye  have  hitherto  lived, 
so  ye  die  too  without  it,  and  so  be  damned  for  ever. 

And  as  for  you  who  are  already  baptized,  and  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  remember  the  promise  which  ye 
then  made,  and  perform  it.  Remember  how  ye  then 
renounced  the  devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh;  and  let 
them  not  therefore  have  dominion  over  you  ;  remember 
the  articles  of  faith  which  you  then  professed  -to  believe, 
and  hold  fast  your  profession  without  wavering  :  remem- 
ber the  holy  commandments  which  you  then  promised 


NECESSAHY   TO    SALVATION.  193 

to  keep,  and  do  all  you  can  to  walk  constantly  in  all  of 
them :  remember  also  the  great  privileges  which  God 
Almighty  then  conferred  upon  you,  in  case  you  keep 
your  word  with  him,  You  were  then  made  the  mem- 
bers of  Christ,  and  so  interested  in  all  the  merits  of  his 
death  and  passion  :  you  were  then  taken  out  of  the 
world,  and  translated  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  to  be 
instructed,  governed,  assisted,  protected,  sanctified,  justi- 
fied, and  saved  by  him :  you  were  then  made  the  chil- 
dren of  God  ;  and  if  children,  then  heirs,  heirs  of  God, 
and  joint-heirs  with  Jesus  Christ :  and  therefore  heirs  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  eternal  life  ;  which  you  can- 
not miss  of,  unless  you  provoke  your  heavenly  Father 
to  disinherit  you,  by  the  neglect  of  your  duty  to  him, 
and  by  the  breach  of  the  promise  which  you  made, 
when  you  were  admitted  into  this  happy  state,  and  by 
not  repenting  of  it  while  ye  may. 

Wherefore,  if  ye  have  broke  the  promise  which  ye 
made  when  ye  were  baptized,  as  I  fear  ye  all  have, 
repent  immediately,  and  set  yourselves  in  good  earnest 
for  the  future,  upon  keeping  it  in  all  respects.  Ye  were 
then  born  of  the  Spirit,  and  so  have  it  always  ready  to 
assist  you.  By  his  assistance,  therefore,  live  now  as 
becomes  the  children  of  God,  and  the  heirs  of  heaven  : 
avoid  whatsoever  ye  know  to  be  offensive  to  your  heav- 
enly Father,  and  do  all  ye  can  to  please  him.  Live 
above  this  world,  and  let  your  conversation  be  where 
your  inheritance  lies.  Strive  all  ye  can  to  walk  worthy 
of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are  called ;  that  ye  may 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world,  and  so  be  meet  to  he  par- 
takers of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light  ;  where  ye 
will  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  your  Fa- 
ther. Which  God  grant  we  may  all  do^  through  Jesns 
Christ  our  Lord. 


SERMON  VIII. 


THE   WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 


1  Cor.  xi.  29. 

'O  yuQ  iadicou  xal  rclvcov   (xvu^Lojg,  xglfza  ^airw  iadlei>    xal 
Ttivei,  fiiii  dtaxgivojv  t6  aib^ua  jov   Kvqlov. 

For  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  damnation 
to  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body. 

There  being  no  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  they  must  be  saved,  but  only  the  name  of 
Christ ;  and  there  being  no  way  to  be  saved  by  him 
neither,  without  beheving  on  him  ;  hence  man  was  no 
sooner  fallen,  but  presently  Christ  was  promised,  and  so 
made  the  object  of  his  faith.  Which  promise  being 
made  to  Adam,  and  so  to  man  in  general,  all  man- 
kind were  equally  obliged  and  concerned  both  firmlj'^  to 
believe  it,  and  also  to  express  and  exercise  this  their 
faith  in  their  promised  Saviour,  by  their  frequent  sacrific- 
ing of  beasts  to  God,  as  types  of  that  grand  sacrifice 
which  he  was  to  offer  for  them.  But,  some  time  after, 
God  having  out  of  all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth,  pitched 
upon  Abraham  for  the  person,  out  of  whose  loins  this  his 
Son  our  Saviour  should  be  born  ;  he  for  that  reason 
chose  Abraham's  posterity  to  be  his  own  peculiar  people, 
as  being  more  nearly  related  to  him  in  blood  ;  to  whom 
therefore  he  renewed  and  explained  the  aforesaid  prom- 
ise more  fully  and  clearly  than  to  the  rest  of  mankind. 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  195 

And  to  put  them  constantly  in  mind  of  what  his  Son  was 
to  suffer  for  them,  and  so  to  strengthen  and  confirm  their 
faith  in  his  blood,  he  required  them  to  slay  and  sacrifice 
some  kind  of  beasts  or  other  every  day  unto  him,  as 
types  and  representatives  of  it.  And  having  in'a  w^onder- 
ful  manner  delivered  them  from  an  Egyptian  bondage, 
wherein  they  had  been  detained  many  years,  and  thereby 
signified  to  them  that  eternal  redemption  which  he  de- 
signed for  them,  he  enjoined  them  to  commemorate  the 
said  deliverance  once  every  year,  by  slaying,  roasting, 
and  eating  a  lamb  in  every  family ;  which  was  so  order- 
ed, that  almost  every  circumstance  in  it  represented 
something  or  other  of  what  Christ  was  to  suffer  after- 
wards, as  well  as  what  God  had  before  done  for  them  : 
yea,  the  very  manner  of  his  death  was  plainly  typified 
by  it ;  for  the  Jews  themselves  acknowledge,  that  the 
lamb  was  always  roasted  in  such  a  posture,  as  to  repre- 
sent a  person  hanging  upon  a  cross. 

Now  when  the  fullness  of  time  was  come,  God,  ac- 
cording to  his  promise,  sent  his  Son  into  the  world  ;  who 
having  for  several  years  together  conversed  with  man- 
kind in  their  own  nature,  and  taught  them  whatsoever 
was  necessary  for  them  to  believe  or  do,  in  order  to  their 
obtaining  eternal  salvation  by  him  ;  and  being  now  ready 
to  offer  up  himself  as  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  worlds  the  same  night  wherein  he  was  betrayed  in 
order  thereunto,  he,  according  to  custom,  eat  the  pass- 
over,  or  lamb  before  spoken  of,  with  his  disciples  :  and 
as  they  were  eating,  he  took  breads  and,  when  he  had 
given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  his  disciples,  say- 
ing, Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body  ivhich  is  given  for  you  : 
this  do  in  remembrance  of  me.  As  likewise  after  supper 
he  took  the  cup,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  gave 


196  THE    WORTH V    COMMUNICANT. 

it  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  this  ;  for  this  is  my 
blood  of  the  new  te^tament^  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  This  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it  in  re- 
membrance of  me. 

These  words  our  Saviour  spake  in  the  Syriac  tongue, 
wherein  there  is  no  word  that  signifies  to  signify  ;  but 
whensoever  they  would  say,  this  signifies  such  a  thing, 
they  always  used  to  saj'^,  this  is  such  a  thing.  And 
therefore  the  Apostles,  to  whom  these  words  were  spok- 
en, could  not  but  understand  them  according  to  the 
common  way  of  speaking  then  in  use  among  them  ; 
and  so  apprehend  our  Saviour's  meaning  to  be,  as  if  he 
should  have  said,  The  paschal  lamb,  which  we  are  now 
eating,  hath  hitherto,  as  ye  know,  typified  the  promised 
Messiah,  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world.  I  am  that  Messiah  or  Christ,  that  Lamb  of 
God,  who  am  now  ready  to  offer  up  myself  for  the  sins 
of  the  world  :  and  therefore  this  and  all  other  sacrifices, 
being  only  types  of  mine,  are  now  to  cease  in  course. 
But  that  3^ou,  as  well  as  your  forefathers,  may  always 
have  something  to  put  you  in  mind  of  me,  and  of  my 
death,  which  I  am  to  suffer  for  you,  behold  I  now  insti- 
tute this  Sacrament  in  lieu  of  all  other  bloody  sacri- 
fices whatsoever  :  so  that  as  this  paschal  lamb  which  we 
are  now  eating  (and  so  all  olher  bloody  sacrifices)  hath 
hitherto  represented  my  death  and  passion  to  you  ;  so 
from  this  time  forward  that  which  I  have  now  done  shall 
do  it.  For  bread  thus  taken,  and  blessed,  and  broken, 
and  distributed,  as  ye  see  me  do  it,  is  now,  and  ever  here- 
after shall  be,  my  body,  in  the  same  sense  that  this  pas- 
chal lamb  hath  hitherto  been  my  body.  And  so  also  for 
the  cup  :  wine  thus  blessed,  as  you  have  seen  me  do  it, 
is  my  blood,  and  shall  be  so  to  the  end  of  the  world,  as 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  197 

eally  as  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb,  or  other  sacri- 
fices, hath  been  so  till  this  time. 

This  seems  to  me  so  plainly  to  be  the  proper  and  nat- 
ural meaning  of  our  blessed  Saviour  in  those  words,  that 
as  I  do  not  question  but  the  Apostles  understood  them  in 
this  sense,  so  I  cannot  but  wonder  how  it  came  into 
men's  minds  at  first  to  put  any  other  meaning  upon  them  ; 
especially  that  the  papists  should  wrest  them  to  such  a 
sense,  or  rather  nonsense,  as  to  ground  their  absurd  doc- 
trine of  transubstantiation  upon  them  ;  a  doctrine  never 
heard  of,  much  less  believed,  in  the  primitive  times. 

But  not  to  insist  upon  that  now.  It  is  further  to  be 
observed  in  these  words,  that  although  our  Lord  doth  ex- 
pressly command  his  disciples  to  do  this  in  remembrance 
of  him,  yet  he  doth  not  prescribe  them  any  set  times 
wherein  to  do  it,  nor  acquaint  them  how  oft  he  would 
have  it  done  ;  only  in  the  institution  of  the  cup  he  inti- 
mates, that  he  would  have  them  do  it  often,  saying,  Do 
this,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it  in  remembrance  of  me.  And  as 
the  Jews,  as  oft  as  they  offered  any  bloody  sacrifices, 
foreshowed  the  Lord's  death  until  his  first  coming  :  so 
Christians,  as  the  apostle  tells  us,  as  oft  as  they  eat  this 
bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  they  show  forth  the  Lord^s  death 
until  his  coining  again,  1  Cor.  xi.  26.  But  still  there  is 
no  precise  time  or  times  prescribed  for  doing  it  by  Christ 
or  his  Apostles :  neither  was  it  proper  or  convenient 
there  should  be.  For  if  there  had,  there  would  have  been 
an  indispensable  necessity  laid  upon  all  Christians  to  do 
it  at  all  such  times,  whereas  some  Christians  may  at  some 
times  be  in  such  places,  and  under  such  circumstances, 
that  it  may  be  morally  impossible  for  them  to  do  it. 

But  how  then  shall  we  know  how  often  we  are  bound 
to  receive  this  holy  Sacrament  ?     There  are  two  ways  to 


198  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

know  it :  from  the  practice  of  the  holy  Apostles  and 
primitive  Christians  ;  and  then  from  the  reason  of  the 
thing,  and  the  end  of  the  institution. 

First,  we  find  the  holy  Apostles,  who  perfectly  under- 
stood our  Lord's  mind,  administering  and  receiving  his 
holy  Sacrament  whensoever  they  met  together  upon  a 
religious  account :  yea,  so  as  that  it  seems  to  have  been 
the  principal  end  of  their  meeting,  especially  upon  the 
Lord's  day  :  for  it  is  written,  that  upon  the  first  day  of 
the  weekj  when  the  disciples  came  together  to  break  bready 
Paul  preached  to  them,  ready  to  depart  on  the  morrow^ 
Acts  XX.  7.  From  whence  we  may  observe,  that  they  re- 
ceived this  Sacrament  at  least  every  first  day  of  the  week, 
which  is  the  Lord's  day  :  and  that  the  main  end  of  their 
meeting  upon  that  day  was  not  to  hear  sermons,  but  to 
break  bread  ;  only  the  Apostle,  being  to  depart  on  the 
morrow,  took  that  occasion  of  preaching  to  them.  And 
the  same  custom  obtained,  not  only  in  the  Apostles' 
times,  but  for  many  ages  after ;  so  that  the  primitive 
Christians  looked  upon  this  Sacrament  as  the  chief  part 
of  their  public  devotions  ;  insomuch  that  they  never  held 
any  religious  assemblies,  without  the  celebration  of  it ; 
and  if  any  one  went  away  without  receiving  it,  he  was 
censured  by  the  Church  for  it.  Which  plainly  shows, 
that  the  apostolical  and  primitive  Church  understood 
our  Lord's  words  in  the  institution  of  this  Sacrament  so, 
as  that  they  looked  upon  themselves  as  obliged  to  do 
this  in  remembrance  of  him,  as  oft  as  they  met  together 
to  worship  and  serve  God. 

And  verily  he  that  considers  the  end  of  the  institution, 
will  find  reason  enough  why  they  did,  and  we  ought  to, 
receive  this  Sacrament  as  oft  as  possibly  we  can :  for, 
seeing  it  was  ordained  in  remembrance  of  Christ,  and 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  1^9 

seeing  we  cannot  possibly  rennember  him  too  often  who 
laid  down  his  life  for  us,  it  must  needs  be  our  duty  to  do 
it  as  oft  as  we  can,  especially  considering  that  the  oftener 
we  remember  him,  the  better  we  shall  beheve  in  him. 
For  by  frequent  receiving  of  his  most  blessed  body  and 
blood,  that  faith  whereby  we  do  it  being  frequently  ex- 
ercised, is  thereby  more  and  more  confirmed,  and  by 
consequence  all  other  graces  and  virtues  whatsoever  be- 
ing derived  by  faith  from  him,  are  thereby  made  more 
strono;  and  vioorous  in  us.  And  therefore  all  that  seri- 
ously  mind  the  concerns  of  another  life,  cannot  but  look 
upon  it  as  their  interest  as  well  as  duty,  to  take  all  op- 
portunities they  can  of  receiving  this  holy  Sacrament, 
and  to  bless  God  for  them.  Be  sure  he  that  came  into 
the  world  on  purpose  to  save  us,  would  never  have  in- 
stituted it,  but  that  he  knew  how  necessary  it  was,  and 
how  much  it  would  conduce  to  our  salvation  by  him. 

From  hence,  therefore,  we  may  see  what  great  reason 
our  Church  had  to  appoint  the  Communion  service  to  be 
used  every  Lord's-day  and  Holy-day  in  the  year,  that  all 
her  members,  who  desire  it,  might  at  all  such  times  have 
an  opportunity  to  receive  this  holy  Sacrament.  And  so 
they  generally  did  for  some  time  after  the  Reformation. 
But  now,  if  people  do  but  receive  it  thrice  a  year,  and 
so  avoid  the  penalty  of  the  law,  they  think  they  do  a 
great  matter :  as  if  we  had  no  other  obligations  upon  us 
to  do  it,  but  only  from  the  laws  of  the  land  ;  which  is  a 
sad  instance  of  the  great  degeneracy  of  the  age  we  live 
in,  and  how  far  we  are  fallen  from  the  zeal  and  piety 
both  of  the  primitive  Christians,  and  our  first  reformers. 

It  is  not  my  design  at  this  time  to  search  into  the  rea- 
sons why  this  great  duty  is  so  commonly  neglected  among 
us.     But  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  that  one  great 


200  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

argument  which  the  devil  and  his  agents  make  use  of  to 
deter  men  from  it,  is  taken  from  these  words  which  I 
have  now  read,  falsely  understood,  or  at  least  not  rightly 
considered.  For  seeing  the  apostle  here  saith,  He  that 
eateth  and  drinketh  unwortMly^  eateth  and  drinketh  dam- 
nation to  himselj]  according  to  our  translation,  people 
have  been  made  to  believe,  that,  if  they  be  not  worthy 
to  receive  the  Sacrament,  and  yet  venture  to  do  it,  they 
are  certainly  damned.  But,  that  jou  may  see  how  great 
and  dangerous  a  mistake  this  is,  I  desire  you  to  consider, 

First,  that  this  cannot  possibly  be  the  meaning  of  the 
words.  For  if  so,  no  man  ever  did  or  can  receive  the 
Sacrament,  but  he  must  be  damned  ;  forasmuch  as  no 
man  ever  yet  was,  or  is,  or  will  be,  or  can  be,  w^orthy  of 
so  great  a  blessing.  And  certainly  our  Saviour  would 
never  command  us  to  do  that  w^hich  we  cannot  do  with- 
out being  damned. 

Moreover,  the  word  which  the  apostle  here  useth, 
xQl.ua^  doth  not  properly  signify  damnation,  as  it  is  trans- 
lated in  the  text,  but  only  judgment,  as  it  is  in  the  mar- 
gin of  our  Bibles.  And  therefore  the  most  that  can  be 
deduced  from  it  is,  that  they  icho  eat  and  drink  nnwor- 
thihj^  are  obnoxious  to  the  judgment  of  God  for  so  doing, 
as  all  they  are,  w^ho  either  pray,  or  hear,  or  do  any  other 
duty  otherwise  than  they  ought  to  do  it.  And  what  kind 
of  judgment  the  apostle  here  means,  he  himself  plainly 
declareth  in  the  words  following  my  text,  saying,  for  this 
cause  many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you,  and  many 
sleep;  which  are  all  temporal  judgments,  which  God  is 
often  pleased  to  inflict  for  other  sins  as  well  as  this  ;  and 
are  so  far  from  eternal  damnation,  that  they  often  prove 
the  occasion  of  preventing  it. 

But  that  which  is  most  of  all  to  he  considered,  is  what 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  201 

the  apostle  means  by  eating  and  drinking  unicorlhily. 
For  which  we  may  observe,  first,  that  he  doth  not  say, 
he  that  being  unworthy  eateth  and  drinkcik,  but  he  that 
doth  it  unworthily,  and  so  doth  not  speak  so  much  of  the 
qualifications  of  the  person  that  doth  it,  as  of  his  manner 
of  doing  it.  And  what  he  means  by  eating  and  drinldng 
unworthily^  or  after  an  unworthy  manner,  we  may  easily 
and  fully  understand  both  from  the  context,  and  the  text 
itself. 

For  first,  as  to  the  context,  the  apostle  is  here  speak- 
ing of  the  great  disorders  which  he  had  heard  of  among 
the  Corinthians  in  their  Christian  assemblies  ;  that  there 
were  divisions  among  them,  even  at  those  sacred  times  : 
and  that  though  the^^  intended  to  receive  the  Sacrament, 
they  did  not  really  do  it.  When  ye  come  together^  therefore^ 
saith  he,  into  one place^  this  is  not  to  eat  the  Lcrd'^s  Sipper^ 
ver.  20,  where  he  plainly  intimates  what  I  observed  be- 
fore, that  their  main  design  of  coming  together  was  to 
eat  the  Lord's  wSupper ;  but  as  they  managed  the  busi- 
ness they  did  not  do  it.  JPor,  saith  he,  in  eating^  every 
one  taketh  before  the  other  his  own  supper ;  and  one  is 
hungry,  and  another  is  drunken  :  ichaty  have  ye  T,ot  houses 
io  eat  and  drink  in  ?  or  despise  ye  the  Church  of  God^  and 
shame  them  that  have  not  ?  ver.  21,  22.  From  whence  it 
is  plain,  that  the  sin  which  he  here  reproves  in  the  Corin- 
thians was,  that  they  ate  the  Lord's  Supper  as  if  it  had 
been  common  food,  without  expressing  any  respect  or 
reverence  to  Christ's  mystical  body  and  blood  ;  and  as 
plain,  that  this  is  that  which  he  here  calls  eating  and 
drinking  umcorthily.  They  carried  themselves  at  the 
Lord's  table  as  if  they  had  been  at  their  own.  The 
p-reat  and  rich  men  ate  and  drank  too  much ;  the  poor 
had  nothing  to  eat  and  drink  :  whence  tl  e  Li])ostle  saith, 


202  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

these  were  hungry ^  and  the  other  drunk.  And  they  who 
eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  after  this  unworthy, 
manner,  are  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  as 
the  apostle  tells  us,  ver.  27,  that  is,  they  violate  and  pro- 
fane Christ's  mystical  body  and  blood,  and  so  are  guilty, 
in  a  manner,  of  the  same  sin  as  the  Jews  were  in  derid- 
ing and  crucifying  of  him  ;  which  also  shows  w^hat  kind 
of  unworthy  receiving  the  apostle  here  speaks  of,  even 
such  whereby  they  trampled  upon  the  Son  of  God,  and 
accounted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  an  unholy  or  pro- 
fane thing,  and  behaved  themselves  accordingly  in  the  re- 
ceiving of  it. 

That  this  is  the  true  sense  of  receiving  unworthily,  ap- 
pears yet  more  plainly  from  the  text  itself.  For  here 
the  apostle  saith,  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unwortMhj^ 
eateth  and  drinketh  damnation,  or  judgment,  to  himself , 
not  discerning  the  Lord'^s  body.  Which  last  words  fully 
explain  the  former  ;  for  by  them  the  apostle  shows  where- 
fore they  who  eat  and  drink  unworthily,  eat  and  drink 
damnation  to  themselves,  even  because  they  do  not  dis- 
cern the  Lord's  body ;  that  is,  they  do  not  discern  or  dis- 
criminate Christ's  body  from  common  food,  by  taking  it 
(veneratione  singulariter  dehita)  with  that  veneration 
which  is  in  a  peculiar  manner  due  to  it,  as  St.  Augus- 
tine explains  the  words,  Eplst.  118  ad  Janvar. — 
Neither  indeed  can  they  admit  of  any  other  exposition. 
And  therefore  to  receive  unworthily  in  the  apostle's  sense, 
is  plainly  nothing  else  but  to  receive  irreverently  and  pro- 
fanely, in  a  manner  unbecoming  Christ's  body  and  blood, 
unworthy  of  so  great  a  mystery  as  that  is.  As  for  peo- 
ple to  deport  themselves  no  otherwise  at  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, than  they  do  when  they  dine  or  sup  at  home,  mak- 
ing no  difterence  or  discrimination  betwixt  that  and  their 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  203 

ordinary  meals  ;  but  eating  this  bread,  and  drinking  this 
cup,  as  if  it  was  not  Christ's  body  and  blood,  but  common 
meat  and  drink  ;  expressing  no  more  regard  or  reverence 
towards  it,  than  they  do  to  bread  or  wine  at  their  own 
tables  :  this,  which  is  but  too  common  among  some  peo- 
ple, is  that  which  the  apostle  here  calls  eating  and  drink" 
ing  unworthily  ;  and  they  who  do  so,  instead  of  Christ's 
body  and  blood,  which  they  do  not  discern,  eat  and  drink 
the  damnation  or  judgment  to  themselves. 

Having  thus  discovered  what  it  is  to  receive  the  Sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper  unworthily,  we  may  easily 
see  what  is  required  to  the  worthy  receiving  of  it.  But 
howsoever,  it  being  a  matter  of  so  great  importance,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  explain  it  more  fully  to  you.  For 
which  purpose  we  must  know,  that  although  this  worthy 
receiving,  as  it  is  opposed  to  the  unworthy  before  spoken 
of,  consists  properly  in  the  carrying  and  demeaning  our- 
selves, both  in  our  souls  and  bodies,  at  the  holy  Sacra- 
ment, in  a  manner  worthy  and  suitable  to  that  body  and 
blood  which  we  there  receive  ;  yet  that  we  may  do  so, 
it  is  necessary  that  our  minds  be  first  rightly  disposed  and 
prepared  for  it.  In  order  whereunto  the  apostle  lays 
down  this  general  rule,  but  let  a  man  examine  (or  prove) 
hhnself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that  bread,  and  drink  oj  that 
cup,  ver.  28.  But  he  doth  not  tell  us  particularly  what 
it  is  that  we  must  examine  ourselves  about :  and  there- 
fore for  that,  our  surest  way  will  be  to  consult  our  Church, 
which  in  her  Catechism  acquaints  us,  that  it  is  required 
of  them  who  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper  to  examine 
themselves  about  three  things  :'' 1.  Whether  they  re- 
pent them  truly  of  their  former  sins,  steadfastly  purpos- 
ing to  lead  a  new  life  .?  2.  Have  a  lively  faith  in  God's 
mercy  through  Christ,  with  a  thankful   romenibranco  of 


204:  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

his  death  :  and,  3.  Be  in  charity  with  all  men."  And 
accordingly,  in  the  Exhortation  at  the  Communion,  she 
calls  upon  all  the  communicants  actually  to  perform  these 
great  duties.  And  verily  these  three  things,  repentance^ 
faith,  and  charity,  are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  qualify- 
ing us  for  the  worthy  receiving  of  Christ's  body  and 
blood,  in  the  sense  now  explained. 

For,  first,  unless  a  man  be  so  sensible  of,  and  sorry  for, 
his  former  sins,  that  he  is  now  resolved  for  the  future  to 
forsake  them,  he  cannot  set  that  value  upon  Christ's 
dying  for  them,  as  is  necessary  to  his  carrying  himself 
aright  at  the  commemoration  of  it.  For  all  the  esteem 
and  respect  we  have,  or  can  show  to  Christ,  as  dying  for 
our  sins,  is  grounded  upon  a  due  sense  of  these  sins  for 
which  he  died  j  which  no  man  can  in  reason  pretend  to, 
that  is  not  both  truly  humbled  for  them,  and  as  steadfastly 
resolved  against  them.  And  therefore  the  first  thing  that 
we  ought  to  do,  in  order  to  the  fitting  ourselves  for  the 
worthy  receiving  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  to  look  back 
upon  our  former  lives,  and  consider  seriously  with  our- 
selves, what  sins  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  we  have 
heretofore  committed  :  and  what  duties  to  God  or  man 
we  have  hitherto  neglected,  and  purpose  with  ourselves, 
by  God's  grace  and  assistance,  that  we  will  for  the  future 
do  so  no  more  ;  and  so  renew  and  ratify  those  vows  and 
promises  in  this,  which  we  made  to  God  in  the  other  Sa- 
crament, even  when  we  were  baptized.  He  that  doth 
this  heartily  and  sincerely,  is  so  far  rightly  prepared  for 
the  worthy  receiving  of  that  body  and  blood,  which  he 
thus  repenteth  of. 

The  next  thing  required,  in  order  thereunto,  is  faith, 
as  it  is,  according  to  the  apostle's  description,  the  substance 
of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  Heb. 


THE    WORTHY    COMMLTJ^ICANT.  205 

xi.  1,  whereby  we  are  as  fully  persuaded,  that  God  will 
give  us  the  good  things  he  hath  promised  to  us  in  Christ, 
as  if  we  had  them  already ;  and  are  as  certain  of  whatso- 
ever he  hath  revealed,  as  if  we  saw  it  before  our  eyes. 
Without  such  a  faith  as  this,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  dis- 
cern the  Lord's  body,  and  by  consequence  to  receive  it 
worthily.  For  all  that  we  see  with  our  eyes  is  only 
bread  and  wine.  Neither  is  it  possible  for  us  to  look 
any  further,  but  only  by  the  eye  of  faith,  whereby  we  be- 
hold Christ's  body  and  blood  as  broken  and  shed  for  us  ; 
and  so  verily  and  indeed  receive,  and  apply  it  to  our- 
selves. And  therefore,  in  order  to  our  worthy  receiving 
the  holy  Sacrament,  we  must  take  special  care  to  exam- 
ine ourselves,  whether  we  be  in  the  faith,  whether  we 
really  believe  all  the  articles  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
have  a  sure  trust  and  confidence  on  God's  merciful  prom- 
ises for  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  and  the  salvation  of  our 
souls,  by  the  blood  of  Christ :  for  the  main  stress  of  our 
receiving  aright  lies  upon  this,  as  presently  we  shall  see 
more  clearly. 

And  then  as  for  charity^  or  a  sincere  and  universal  love 
to  all  men,  without  that  no  man  is  fit  to  appear  before 
him  who  died  for  all  men  ;  much  less  to  receive  that 
body  and  blood  which  was  offered  up  as  a  propitiation 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  For  he  cannot  possibly 
give  it  that  honor  and  respect  which  is  due  to  it,  by  rea- 
son of  his  malice  and  hatred  against  some  of  those  per- 
sons for  whom  it  was  offered.  And  besides  that,  he  that 
is  not  in  love  and  charity  with  all  men,  it  is  plain  that 
he  doth  not  forgive  the  wrongs  and  injuries  which  he 
hath  received  from  some  men,  and  therefore  is  not  capa- 
ble to  receive  the  pardon  of  his  own  sins  from  God,  and 
by  consequence  not  worthy  to  receive  that  Sacrament 
10 


206  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

wherein  it  should  he  sealed  to  him.  Wherefore,  as  ever 
we  desire  to  receive  it  worthily,  we  must  be  sure  to  lay- 
aside  all  malicious  and  revengeful  thoughts  against  all 
persons  whatsoever  ;  and  come  with  love  as  large,  and 
of  the  same  extent  with  that  death  which  we  there  com- 
memorate ;  as  freely  forgiving  all  others,  as  we  desire 
that  God,  for  Christ  Jesus'  sake,  should  forgive  us. 

If  we  thus  repent  us  trul}^  for  our  sins  past,  have  a 
lively  and  steadfast  faith  in  Christ  our  Saviour,  amend 
our  lives,  and  be  in  perfect  charity  with  all  men,  we  shall 
then  be.  meet  partakers  of  these  holy  mysteries,  as  our 
Church  assures  us.  But  for  that  purpose  we  must  not 
only  have  these  graces  beforehand,  but  we  must  likewise 
act  and  exercise  them  all  the  while  that  we  are  at  our 
Lord's  table  ;  which  that  we  may  do,  our  Church  hath 
so  contrived  that  incomparable  Oifice  which  she  hath 
made  for  the  Administration  of  the  Holy  Communion, 
that  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  there  is  continual 
matter  and  occasion  given  for  the  acting  and  exciting 
these  Christian  virtues  in  us,  and  so  for  our  due  and 
worthy  receiving  of  Christ's  most  precious  body  and 
blood  ;  which  that  I  may  demonstrate  to  you,  and  there- 
with show  how  we  may  and  ought  to  eat  this  bread  and 
drink  this  cup  so  duly  and  worthily,  that  we  may  not 
eat  and  drink  judgment,  but  health  and  salvation  to  our- 
selves, I  shall  briefly  run  through  the  whole  Office,  be- 
ginning at  fhe  Offertory. 

Our  minds,  therefore,  being  rightly  disposed  and  pre- 
pared for  so  great  a  work,  by  an  humble  confession  of 
our  sins,  by  fervent  and  solemn  prayers  to  God  for  the 
pardon  of  them,  and  for  the  grace  to  forsake  them,  by 
praising  and  magnifying  his  all-glorious  name,  and  by 
hearing  some  part  of  his  holy  word  read  and  expounded 


THE    WORTHY    COMMliNICANT.  207 

to  usj  we  then  make  bold  to  address  ourselves  to  our 
Lord's  table,  where  the  first  thing  we  set  about  is  to  ex- 
ercise our  charity,  and  that  two  ways  :  first,  by  a  liberal 
contribution  of  what  God  hath  given  us,  to  the  relief  of 
others'  necessities  ;  and  then  by  praying  for  Christ's  whole 
catholic  Church  militant  here  on  earth,  whereby  we  do 
not  only  profess  ourselves  to  be  members  of  that  society, 
and  to  live  in  communion  with  it,  but  likewise  express 
our  charity  to  all  sorts  of  persons  in  it,  as  our  Lord  did, 
by  praying  for  them. 

After  which  the  priest,  in  an  Exhortation  composed  for 
that  purpose,  puts  the  people  in  mind  of  the  great  benefit 
that  will  accrue  to  them,  if  with  a  true  penitent  heart 
and  lively  faith  they  receive  that  holy  Sacrament,  and  of 
the  greatness  of  the  danger,  if  they  receive  the  same  un- 
worthily ;  and  therefore  exhorts  them  to  the  exercise  of 
the  graces  before  mentioned,  and  to  give  their  humble 
and  hearty  thanks  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  for  the  redemption  of  the  world  by  the  death  and 
passion  of  our  Saviour  Christ,  both  God  and  man,  who 
humbled  himself  to  the  death  of  the  cross,  that  he  might 
exalt  us  to  everlasting  life.  And  that  we  might  always 
remember  his  said  death,  and  the  benefits  of  it,  instituted 
this  holy  Sacrament  to  our  great  and  endless  comfort ; 
concluding  with  the  great  obligation  that  lies  upon  us  to 
bless  God  for  this  his  inestimable  love,  and  to  show  forth 
his  praise,  not  only  with*  our  lips,  but  likewise  in  our 
lives,  by  studying  to  serve  him  in  true  holiness  and  right- 
eousness, all  our  days. 

The  Exhortation  ended,  the  minister  invites  all,  who 
are  thus  prepared,  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  saying  to  them, 
Draw  near  tvith  faith,  and  take  this  hohj  Sacrament  to  your 
comfort.     He   invites  them,  first,  to  draw  near,  thereby 


«> 


208  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

putting  them  in  mind,  that  they  are  now  invited  into 
Christ's  more  especial  presence,  to  sit  down  with  him  at 
his  own  table  ;  and  therefore,  as  an  emblem  thereof, 
should  come  from  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  church, 
as  near  to  the  said  table  as  they  can.  But  then  he  ad- 
viseth  them  to  draw  near  withfaith^  as  without  which  all 
their  bodily  approaches  will  signify  nothing,  it  being  only 
by  faith  that  they  can  really  draw  near  to  Christ,  and  take 
the  holy  Sacrament  to  their  comfort.  But  seeing  they 
cannot  act  their  faith  aright,  until  they  have  first  confessed 
and  repented  of  their  sins  ;  therefore  he  calls  upon  them 
to  make  their  humble  confession  unto  Godj  meekly  kneeling 
on  their  knees. 

And  now  all  that  are  to  comnmnicate,  being  prostrate 
upon  their  knees  before  God,  do  in  a  most  humble  and 
solemn  manner  jointly  acknowledge  and  bewail  their  mani- 
fold sins  and  wickedness j  which  they  from  time  to  time  have 
committed  in  thought^  wordy  and  deed  against  his  divine 
Majesty  ;  professing  themselves  most  earnestly  to  repent  of 
them.,  humbly  beseeching  Almighty  God  to  pardon  what  is 
past,  and  to  grant  them  grace  for  the  future  to  serve  and 
please  him  in  newness  of  life^for  Christ  Jesus'*  sake.  Ail 
which  is  done  wdth  such  grave,  apposite,  and  pathetical 
words,  that  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  for  us  to  ex- 
press our  hearty  and  sincere  repentance  better  than  we  do 
at  that  time. 

And  while  the  people  continue  in  this  humble  posture, 
begging  for  mercy  and  grace  at  the  hands  of  God,  the 
minister  stands  up,  and  in  the  name  of  God  assures  them, 
that  he  of  his  infinite  mercy  hath  promised  forgiveness  of 
sins  to  all  them  that  with  hearty  repentance  and  true  faith 
turn  unto  him  :  and  therefore  he  applies  the  said  promises 
unto  them,  praying,  that  Almighty  God  would  accordingly 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  209 

have  mercy  upon  theniy  pardon  and  deliver  them  from  all 
their  sins,  confirm  and  strengthen  them  in  all  goodness,  and 
bring  them  to  everlasting  life,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord. 

And  here  it  is  that  our  faith  must  begin  to  work,  as  it 
is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  so  as  firmly  and  con- 
stantly to  believe,  that  upon  our  hearty  and  sincere  re- 
pentance we  are  now  absolved  from  all  our  former  sins, 
and  that  from  this  time  forward  God  will  assist  us  with 
his  grace  and  holy  Spirit,  to  serve  and  please  him,  accord- 
ing to  the  prayers  which  we  have  put  up  to  him,  and  the 
promises  which  he  hath  made  to  us  for  that  purpose,  in 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ :  for  all  the  benefit  of 
absolution,  as  pronounced  by  the  minister,  depends  upon 
this  our  believing  in  the  promises  and  word  of  God,  upon 
which  it  is  grounded. 

Which,  therefore,  that  we  may  do,  the  minister  pre- 
sently reads  some  choice  sentences  of  Scripture,  wherein 
God  hath  promised  or  declared  his  willingness  to  pardon 
and  absolve  us  from  our  sins  in  the  blood  of  his  Son, 
that  so  we  may  act  our  faith  accordingly  upon  them. 
And  therefore  he  calls  upon  the  people  to  hear,  or  hearken 
diligently  to  them,  and  take  special  notice  of  them. 

As  first,  these  comfortable  words  which  our  Saviour 
saith  to  all  that  truly  turn  to  him,  Matt.  xi.  2S.  Come 
unto  me,  all  that  travail  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
refresh  you. 

Which  words  contain  so  firm  and  solid  a  foundation 
whereupon  to  build  our  faith,  that  if  we  be  but  truly  peni- 
tent, we  cannot  doubt  of  God's  mercy  towards  us.  For  here 
his  only  Son  with  his  own  divine  mouth  invites  all  that  are 
so  to  come  to  him,  promising,  or  engaging  his  word,  that 
he  will  refresh  them,  give  them  peace  in  their  minds, 


210  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

quiet  in  their  consciences,  and  rest  to  their  whole  souls. 
He  will  take  care  that  they  neither  travail  nor  be  heavy 
laden  any  longer  with  the  burden  of  their  sins  ;  for  he  will 
refresh  them  with  the  sense  of  God's  mercy  in  the  pardon 
of  all  their  faults,  and  with  the  assistance  of  his  grace  in 
the  mortifying  of  all  their  lusts.  Sin  shall  no  longer 
have  dominion  over  them,  because  they  are  not  now  under 
the  law,  but  under  his  grace,  Rom.  vi.  14. 

Now  these  being  the  words  of  Christ  himself,  we  ought 
to  have  a  sure  trust  and  confidence  on  them,  so  as  to  be 
fully  persuaded,  that  we  being  in  the  number  of  those 
whom  he  calls,  and  having  obeyed  his  call  in  coming  to 
him,  he,  according  to  his  word,  will  ease  us  of  our  sins, 
and  give  us  rest :  especially  considering  that  he  himself 
assures  us  with  his  own  mouth,  that  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  to  the  end  that 
all  that  believe  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life,  John  iii.  16. 

Which  words  containino;  the  substance  and  design  of  the 
whole  Gospel,  pronounced  by  Christ  himself,  are  there- 
fore read  in  the  next  place,  that  we  might  have  an  occa- 
sion to  exercise  our  faith  in  it  all,  and  that  no  place 
might  be  left  for  diffidence  or  doubting  ;  for  seeing  the 
great  reason  that  moved  God  to  send  his  Son,  was  his 
infinite  love  to  mankind  ;  and  the  only  end  why  he  did  it 
was,  that  all  that  believe  in  him  might  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life  ;  what  can  we  desire  more  to  excite  and 
confirm  our  faith  in  him  1  for  he  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  but 
vnth  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things!     Rom.  viii.  32. 

But  lest  the  sense  of  our  former  sins  should  be  apt  to 
make  us  despond  or  despair  of  mercy,  that  nothing  may 
be  wanting  to  the  completing  of  our  faith  at  this  time, 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  21.1 

there  are  two  other  divine  sentences  read  ;  the  one  of 
St.  Paul,  saying,  This  is  a  true  saying^  and  worthy  of  all 
men  to  be  received,  that  Christ  Jesus  carne  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners,  1  Tim.  i.  15,  and  the  other  of  St.  John,  If 
any  man  sin,  we  hive  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous ;  and  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  1  John  ii.  1,  whereby  we  are  given  to  understand 
and  believe,  that  Christ  came  into  the  world  on  purpose 
to  save  such  sinners  as  we  are  ;  and  that  he  was  made  a 
propitiation  for  our  sins,  having  undergone  all  that  shame, 
and  pain,  and  punishment,  which  was  due  unto  us  for 
then,  and  is  now  our  Advocate  in  heaven,  always  inter- 
ceding for  us,  and  ready  to  apply  the  merits  of  his  death 
and  passion  to  us.  For  what  an  occasion  have  we  here 
given  us  to  fix  and  exercise  our  faith,  as  St.  Paul  did, 
saying.  Who  shall  lay  anythinrj  to  the  charge  of  God^s 
elect  ?  //  is  God  that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  con- 
demneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen 
again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also 
niaketh  intercession  for  us,  Rom.  viii.  33,  34,  &c. 

Having  thus  exercised  our  faith,  and  so  got  above  this 
world,  we  are  now  ready  to  go  into  the  other,  and  join 
with  the  glorified  saints  and  angels  in  praising  and  adoring 
that  God  that  hath  dons  so  great  things  for  us  ;  which 
that  we  may  do,  the  minister  calls  upon  the  people  to 
ift  up  their  hearts.  And  their  hearts  being  now  by  faith 
wholly  inclined  to  God,  are  as  ready  to  do  it,  as  he  is  to 
desire  it ;  and  therefore  immediately  answer.  We  lift  them 
up  unto  the  Lord.  And  now  their  hearts  being  all  lift  up 
together,  and  so  fitted  for  celebrating  the  high  praises  of 
God,  the  minister  invites  them  all  to  join  with  him  in  the 
doing  it,  saying.  Let  us  gioe  thanks  unto  our  Lord  God: 
which  they  having  consented  to,  saying,  It  is  meet  and 


212  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

right  so  to  do  ;  he  turns  himself  to  the  Lord's  table,  and 
acknowledges  to  his  Divine  Majesty  there  specially  pre- 
sent, that  it  is  very  meet  and  right^  and  our  bounden  duty^ 
that  we  should  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  give  thanks 
lado  him.  And  then,  he  looking  upon  himself  and  the  rest 
of  the  communicants  as  members  of  the  Church  triumph- 
ant in  heaven  ;  and  all  apprehending  themselves  by  faith, 
as  in  the  midst  of  that  blessed  society,  where  th{?y  hope 
ere  long  to  be  indeed ;  they  join  with  them  in  singing 
forth  the  praises  of  the  most  high  God,  saying,  "  There- 
fore with  angels  and  archangels,  and  with  all  the  company 
of  heaven,  we  laud  and  magnify  thy  glorious  name,"  &c. 
And  certainly,  if  ever  our  souls  be  in  heaven  while  our 
bodies  are  upon  earth,  it  must  needs  be  in  the  singing  of 
this  heavenly  anthem  ;  when  our  spirits,  Mnth  those  of 
just  men  made  perfect,  yea,  with  the  whole  company  of 
heaven,  in  so  solemn  and  seraphic  a  manner  adore  and 
magnify  the  eternal  God,  our  Maker  and  Redeemer. 
Especially  when  we  celebrate  the  nativity,  the  resurrec- 
tion, and  ascension  of  our  blessed  Lord,  his  mission  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  the  most  holy  Trinity ;  for  which  there 
are  proper  Prefaces  appointed,  to  raise  up  our  hearts  as 
high  as  possible,  in  praising  God  for  such  transcendent 
mysteries  and  mercies  as  these  are. 

And  now,  if  ever,  our  minds  must  needs  be  duly  pre- 
pared to  receive  the  blessed  body  and  blood  of  our  dear 
Lord ;  and  therefore  the  minister,  having  first  acknow- 
ledsied  our  unworthiness  of  so  great  a  mercy,  and  prayed 
to  God  to  assist  us  with  his  grace  to  receive  it  worthily, 
he  then  saith  the  Prayer  of  Consecration. 

And  now  there  is  nothing  either  said  or  done,  but  w^hat 
puts  us  in  mind  of  something  or  other  whereupon  to  em- 
ploy and  exercise  our  faith. 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  213 

When  we  see  the  bread  and  wine  set  apart  for  conse- 
cration, it  should  mind  us  of  God's  eternal  purpose,  and 
determinate  counsel,  to  send  his  Son  into  the  world,  and 
to  offer  him  up  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  mankind. 

The  minister's  reading  the  Prayer  of  Consecration 
alone,  none  of  the  people  speaking  a  word,  nor  any  ways 
assisting  him  in  it,  should  put  us  in  mind  how  the  whole 
work  of  our  salvation  was  accomplished  by  Christ  alone, 
no  mere  creature  contributing  anything  at  all  towards  it. 

When  we  hear  these  words,  who  in  the  same  night  that 
he  was  betrayed  took  bread  ;  we  are  by  faith  to  behold 
our  Lord  at  his  last  suj^per,  there  instituting  this  sacra- 
ment which  we  are  now  to  receive,  and  distributing  it  to 
his  Apostles  with  his  own  blessed  hands. 

When  we  see  the  bread  broken,  then  we  should  call 
to  mind  all  that  grief  and  pain,  those  bitter  agonies  and 
passions,  which  our  Lord  suffered  for  our  sins,  and  in  our 
stead.  How  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and 
bruised  for  our  iniquities ;  that  the  chastisement  of  our 
peace  was  upon  him,  that  by  his  stripes  we  might  be 
healed  :  how  his  blessed  body  was  broken,  his  hands  and 
feet  fastened  to  the  cross  with  nails  drove  through  them, 
and  all  for  our  sins,  even  for  ours. 

And  so  when  the  minister  takes  the  cup  into  his  hand, 
then  we  are  by  faith  to  behold  how  fast  the  blood  trickled 
down  from  our  Lord's  head,  when  crowned  with  thorns  ; 
from  his  hands  and  feet,  when  nailed  to  the  cross ; 
from  his  side,  when  pierced  with  the  spear  ;  and  from 
his  w^hole  body,  when  he  was  in  his  agony  ;  and  all  to 
wash  away  our  sins  ;  still  believing  that  it  was  for  our 
sins  that  all  this  precious  blood  was  shed  ;  for  such  and 
such  sins,  which  we  know  everyone  of  ourselves  to  have 
been  guilty  of. 

10* 


214  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

When  we  hear  our  Lord's  words  pronounced,  the 
words  of  consecration,  this  is  mij  body  which  is  given  for 
you  ;  and  this  is  my  blood  which  is  shed  for  you  and  for 
many  for  the  remission  of  sins  ;  then  are  we  steadfastly  to 
believe,  that  although  the  substance  of  bread  and  wine 
still  remain,  yet  they  are  not  now  common  bread  and 
wine  ;  as  to  their  use,  but  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
in  that  sense  that  he  spoke  the  words  ;  insomuch  that 
*'  whosoever  duly  receives  these  creatures  of  bread  and 
wine  according  to  Christ's  holy  institution,  in  remem- 
brance of  his  death  and  passion,  are  partakers  of  his 
most  precious  body  and  blood :"  as  it  is  expressed  in 
the  words  of  consecration. 

When  we  see  the  minister  distributing  this  sacramen- 
tal bread  and  wine  to  the  several  communicants,  we  are 
then  by  faith  to  apprehend  our  Lord  offering  his  body  and 
blood,  and  all  the  benefits  of  his  death  and  passion,  to  all 
that  are  willing  and  ready  to  receive  them  at  his  hands. 

But  when  it  comes  to  our  turns  to  receive,  then  we 
are  to  lay  aside  all  thoughts  of  bread,  and  wine,  and  min- 
ister, and  of  everything  else  that  is  or  can  be  seen  ;  and 
fix  our  faith,  as  it  is  the  evidence  of  things  notseen,  whol- 
ly and  solely  upon  our  blessed  Saviour,  as  communicating 
his  own  body  and  blood  to  us,  to  preserve  both  our  bod- 
ies and  souls  to  everlasting  life.  Which  we  are  there- 
fore to  receive  by  faith,  as  it  is  the  substance  of  things 
hoped  for  ;  steadfastly  believing  it  to  be  what  our  Saviour 
said,  his  body  and  blood,  which,  as  our  Church  saith,  is 
verily  and  indeed  taken  and  received  by  the  faithful  in  the 
Lord\s  Supper.  By  which  means,  whatsoever  it  is  to 
others,  it  will  be  to  us,  who  receive  it  with  such  a  faith, 
the  substance  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  and  so  of  all 
the  good  things  we  hope  for  upon  his  account. 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  215 

And  the  better  to  excite  and  assist  us  in  the  exercise 
of  our  faith,  after  this  manner,  at  our  receiving  the  sacra- 
mental bread  and  wine,  the  minister,  at  the  distribution 
of  it,  first  apphes  the  merits  of  Christ's  death  in  general 
to  each  particular  person  that  receives  it,  saying  to  every 
one  singly,  Tke  body  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  lohich  was 
given  for  thee,  and  the  blood  which  was  shed  for  thee, 
preserve  thy  body  and  soul  unto  everlasting  life,  that 
so  I  may  apply  it  to  myself,  as  the  body  and  blood  of 
him  that  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me,  to  preserve 
my  body  and  soul  to  everlasting  life.  And  then  he  adds, 
at  the  distribution  of  the  bread,  take  and  eat  this  in 
remembrance  that  Christ  died  for  thee,  and  feed  on  him 
in  thy  heart  by  faith  with  thanksgiving.  Whereby  I  am 
put  in  mind  to  eat  it  in  remembrance  that  Christ  died  for 
me  in  particular,  and  then  am  taught  how  to  feed  upon 
him,  even  in  my  heart  by  faith  with  thanksgiving.  In 
my  heart,  because  it  is  not  bodily,  but  spiritual,  food; 
and  by  faith,  as  the  only  means  whereby  the  heart  or 
soul  can  take  its  proper  nourishment,  and  receive  the 
substance  of  things  here  hoped  for,  even  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ.  And  then  it  must  be  with  thanksgiving, 
too,  as  the  necessary  consequent  of  faith.  For  as  no  man 
can  be  truly  thankful  to  and  for  Christ,  without  actually 
believing  in  him ;  so  no  man  can  actually  believe  in  him, 
but  he  must  needs  be  truly  thankful  both  to  and  for  him. 
And  therefore  in  the  distribution  of  the  cup,  after  the 
words,  drink  this  in  remembrance  that  Christ''s  blood  was 
shed  for  thee,  it  is  only  added,  and  be  thankful:  because 
this  necessarily  supposeth  and  requireth  our  feeding  upon 
him  in  our  heart  by  faith,  as  without  which  it  is  impos- 
sible for  us  to  be  truly  thankful. 

And  hence  also  it  is,  that  the  Church  requires  us  to 


216  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

receive  the  holy  Sacrament  kneeling,  not  out  of  any  re- 
spect to  the  creatures  of  bread  and  wine  in  themselves, 
but  to  put  us  in  mind,  that  Almighty  God,  our  Creator 
and  Redeemer,  the  only  object  of  all  religious  worship, 
is  there  specially  present  with  us,  offering  his  own  body 
and  blood  to  us,  that  so  we  may  act  our  faith  in  him,  and 
express  our  sense  of  his  goodness  to  us,  and  of  our  own 
unworthiness  of  it,  in  the  most  humble  posture  that 
we  can.  And  indeed,  could  our  Church  be  sure  that  all 
her  members  would  receive  as  they  ought  with  faith,  she 
needed  not  to  have  commanded  them  to  receive  it  kneel- 
ing, for  they  could  not  do  it  any  otherwise.  For  how 
can  I  pray  in  faith  to  Almighty  God  to  preserve  both  my 
body  and  soul  to  everlasting  life,  and  not  make  my  body, 
as  well  as  my  soul,  bow  down  before  him  ?  how  can  I 
by  a  quick  and  lively  faith  behold  my  Saviour  as  com- 
ing to  me,  and  offering  me  his  own  body  and  blood, 
and  not  fall  down  and  worship  him  r  how  can  I  by  faith 
lay  hold  upon  the  pardon  of  all  my  sins,  as  there  sealed 
and  delivered  to  me,  and  receive  it  any  otherwise  than 
upon  my  knees  r  I  dare  not,  I  cannot  do  it.  And  they 
that  can,  have  too  much  cause  to  suspect  that  they  do 
not  d'scern  the  Lord's  body,  and  therefore  cannot  receive 
it  worthily.  Be  sure  our  receiving  the  blessed  l)ody  and 
blood  of  Christ,  as  the  catholic  Church  always  did,  in  an 
humble  and  adoring  posture,  is  both  an  argument  and 
excitement  of  our  faith  in  him :  by  it  we  demonstrate  to 
the  world  and  our  own  consciences,  that  we  discern  the 
Lord's  body,  and  believe  him  to  be  really  present  with 
us  :  and  by  it  we  excite  and  stir  up  both  ourselves  and 
others  to  act  and  exercise  our  faith  more  steadfastly  upon 
him,  in  that  by  our  adoring  of  him  we  actually  acknow- 
ledge him  to  be  God  as  well  as  man  ;  and  therefore  an 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  217 

all-sufficient  Saviour,  who  is  able  to  save  to  the  utmost 
all  that  come  unto  God  by  him;  and  by  consequence  one 
whom  we  have  all  the  reason  in  the  world  to  believe  and 
trust  on. 

And  then,  lastly,  when  we  have  thus  spiritually  eaten 
the  flesh  of  Christ,  and  drunk  his  blood,  then  we  are 
firmly  to  believe,  and  rest  fully  satisfied  in  our  minds, 
that,  according  to  his  own  words,  Christ  now  dwelleth 
in  us,  and  we  in  him  ;  that  Christ  is  one  with  us,  and 
we  with  him.  And  therefore,  that  God  hath  now  sealed 
to  us  the  pardon  of  all  our  sins,  and  will  enable  us  for  the 
future,  by  his  own  Spirit,  to  walk  iri  holiness  and  righte- 
ousness before  him  all  the  days  of  our  life  ;  which  faith 
we  are  still  to  exercise  all  the  while  that  others  are 
receiving,  adoring  that  infinite  goodness  that  is  so  free 
and  ready  to  communicate  itself  to  such  unworthy  crea- 
tures as  we  are. 

And  when  all  have  received,  with  the  same  humble 
confidence  we  address  ourselves  to  our  heavenly  Father, 
as  now  reconciled  to  us  in  his  own  Son,  in  that  divine 
form  of  prayer,  which  he  himself,  whose  body  and  blood 
we  have  now  received,  was  pleased  to  compose,  and  re- 
quire us  to  use  upon  all  occasions.  After  which,  having 
added  another  prayer,  proper  for  this  great  and  solemn 
occasion,  we  join  together  in  saying  or  singing  that  in- 
comparable hymn,  Glory  be  to  God  on  high,  &c. ;  the 
first  part  whereof  was  sung  by  the  choir  of  heaven  at  our 
Lord's  nativity,  and  the  rest  added  by  the  primitive,  if 
not  by  the  apostolical,  Church,  it  being  the  most  ancient 
hymn  that  we  know  was  ever  used  both  by  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Churches  all  along.  And  if  ever  we  be  fit  to 
praise  God  in  so  seraphic  a  manner,  it  must  needs  be  at 
this  time,  now  that  Christ  dwelleth  in  our  hearts  by  faith. 


218  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

and  so  assists  us  in  the  doing  of  it.  Bat  for  the  perform- 
ing it  aright,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  our  minds  all  the 
while  intent  and  fixed  upon  the  great  God,  and  our  bless- 
ed Saviour,  to  whom  we  speak  in  a  peculiar  manner ; 
and  with  the  eye  of  faith  to  look  upon  him  as  there  pre- 
sent with  us,  and  observing  how  earnestly  we  beseech 
him,  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
icorld^  to  have  mercy  upon  us  ;  and  how  heartily  we  adore 
and  magnify  his  sanctity,  his  authority  over  all  things, 
and  his,  together  with  his  holy  Spirit's,  infinite  height  in 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 

After  all  which  duly  performed,  having  prayed  for 
God's  acceptance  of  what  we  have  done,  and  for  his 
blessing  upon  us,  we  are  accordingly  dismissed  as  well 
as  may  be  with  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing :  and  with  the  blessing  of  God  Almighty ^  the 
Father^  the  Son^  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  which  will  cer- 
tainly be  and  remain  with  those  who  thus  receive  the 
holy  Sacrament  always. 

Thus  we  now  see  how  we  may  and  ought  to  receive 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  worthily.  Blessed 
and  thrice  happy  are  they  that  do  it,  and  that  do  it  often : 
for  the  oftener  we  do  it,  the  more  expert  we  shall  be  at 
it,  and  the  more  benefit  and  comfort  we  shall  receive 
from  it.  It  is  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  them 
who  do  it  only  now  and  then,  ever  to  do  it  as  they  ought. 
And  therefore  it  is  no  wonder  they  are  never  the  better 
for  it :  it  is  rather  a  wonder  if  they  be  not  much  the  worse. 
It  is  by  frequent  acts  that  habits  are  produced:  it  is  by 
often  eating  and  drinking  of  this  spiritual  food  that  we 
learn  to  do  it  so  as  to  digest  and  convert  it  into  proper 
nourishment  for  our  souls,  that  they  may  grow  thereby  ; 
which  the   primitive  Christians  and  the  Apostles  them- 


THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT.  219 

selves  were  so  sensible  of,  that  they  made  this  a  neces- 
sary and  essential  part  of  all  their  public  devotions  ;  at 
least,  they  never  reckoned  that  they  kept  the  Lord's  day 
aright,  in  remembrance  of  his  resurrection,  unless  they 
had  been  at  his  table,  to  do  this  in  remembrance  of  his 
death  and  passion.  And  could  this  primitive,  this  apos- 
tolical practice  be  once  revived  amongst  us,  our  Church 
would  soon  put  on  a  new  face,  and  appear  as  excellent 
in  its  members  as  it  is  in  its  constitution.  For  by  this 
means  we  should  soon  arrive  at  that  degree  of  grace  and 
virtue,  as  to  be,  and  live,  as  becometh  Christians  indeed  ; 
that  is,  the  most  holy,  most  righteous,  and  most  excel- 
lent persons  upon  earth  ;  such  as  the  primitive  Christians 
were,  and  such  as  we  must  be,  it  ever  we  desire  to  go 
to  heaven. 

What,  therefore,  if  the  laws  of  the  land  do  not  abso- 
lutely require  all  men  to  communicate  oftener  than  thrice 
a  year  .'*  the  only  reason  why  they  require  it  at  all  is,  that 
all  people  may  thereby  manifest  themselves  to  profess 
the  Christian  religion  established  in  the  nation  :  for  no 
human  laws  can  look  any  further  ;  and  yet  even  for  that 
it  is  judged  necessary,  and  therefore  commanded,  that  all 
persons  should  communicate  at  least  thrice  a  year  ;  and 
all  priests  and  deacons  in  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches 
every  Sunday  at  least  ;  which  if  they  neglect  to  do,  they 
are  looked  upon  as  no  Christians,  and  therefore  are  cast 
out  of  the  Church.  But  if  so  much  be  necessary  to  the 
very  outward  profession  of  our  most  holy  religion,  what 
shall  we  think  of  the  practice  of  it  ?  certainly  nothing 
less  is  required  to  that,  by  the  laws  of  Christ  and  his 
Church,  than  to  communicate  as  often  as  we  can  possibly 
find  an  opportunity  ;  and  to  make  one  where  we  find 
none,  by  requesting,  and  if  need  bo  by  requiring,  the  min- 


220  THE    WORTHY    COMMUNICANT. 

ister  of  the  parish  where  we  Uve  to  administer  it  to  us, 
who  neither  in  law  nor  conscience  can  refuse  it,  when 
requested  by  a  sufficient  number  of  communicants. 

I  shall  say  no  more,  but  that  I  never  expect  to  see  our 
Church  settled  upon  the  lasting  foundations  of  peace  and 
piety,  till  the  holy  Communion  is  oftener  celebrated  and 
received,  than  for  some  years  past  it  hath  been  used  to 
be  ;  and  am  sure,  that  if  people  were  but  sensible  of  the 
advantage  it  would  be  to  them,  they  would  need  no  other 
arguments  to  persuade  them  to  the  frequent  receiving  of 
it.  For  we  should  soon  find,  as  many  have  done  already, 
by  experience,  that  this  is  the  great  means  appointed  by 
our  blessed  Saviour,  whereby  to  communicate  himself, 
and  all  the  merits  of  his  death  and  passion,  to  us.  Inso- 
much that  by  a  due  and  frequent  receiving  of  this  holy 
Sacrament,  our  souls  would  be  as  much  strengthened  and 
refreshed  by  the  bod}^  and  blood  of  Christ,  as  our  bodies 
are  by  bread  and  wine.  And  we  should  receive  such 
constant  supplies  of  grace  and  virtue  from  him,  whereby 
we  should  be  enabled  not  only  to  avoid  the  sins  and  fol- 
lies of  this  lower  world,  but  always  to  live  above  it,  and 
to  have  our  conversation  in  heaven.  In  short,  by  our 
frequent  conversing  with  our  blessed  Lord  at  his  table 
here  below,  we  shall  be  always  fit  and  ready  to  go  to 
him,  and  converse  with  him  in  his  kingdom  above,  where 
we  shall  have  no  more  need  of  Sacraments,  but  shall  see 
him  face  to  face,  and  praise  and  adore  him  for  evermore. 

"  The  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding, 
keep  your  hearts  and  minds  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
God,  and  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  bur  Lord  :  and  the 
blessing  of  God  Almighty,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  amongst  you,  and  remain  with  you 
always.      Amen." 


SERMON   IX. 


UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE  REQUISITE  TO  SALVATION, 


Luke  r.  6. 


And  they  were  both  righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all  the  commandments 
and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless. 

What  these  ordinances  were,  which  Zacharias  and 
Elizabeth  walked  in,  we  have  shown  already  ;  and  from 
thence  may  easily  gather  what  those  are  which  we  must 
walk  in,  if  we  would  be  righteous  ;  for  the  ordinances 
which  they  observed  were  those  of  the  Levitical  law, 
which  were  all  positive  precepts,  ordained  by  God  to 
make  up  the  defects  of  their  obedience  to  the  moral  law 
by  the  exercise  of  their  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ, 
the  great  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  For 
these  being  the  terms  upon  which  the  merits  of  Christ's 
death  are  applied  to  any  person  for  the  pardon  of  his 
sins,  and  for  the  acceptance  of  his  sincere  instead  of  per- 
fect righteousness,  it  was  as  necessary  for  them  as  it  is  for 
us  to  have  some  means  of  God's  own  ordaining,  whereby 
to  obtain  and  act  them.  And  such,  in  the  old  law,  were 
the  sacrifices  which  they  were  bound  to  offer  for  the  sins 
they  had  committfid  :  and,  therefore,  he  that  brought  this 
sin  or  trespass-offering,  was  first  to  confess  his  sin,  and  to 
testify  his  repentance  for  it.  "  And  it  shall  be,"  saith  the 
Law,  "  when  he  .shall  be  guilty  in  one  of  these  things,  that 


222  UNIVERSAL    OBEDIENCE 

he  shall  confess  that  he  hath  sinned  in  that  thing,"  Lev. 
V.  5,  Numb.  V.  7.  And  the  Jews  have  a  tradition, 
that  this  confession  was  made  upon  the  head  of  the  sacri- 
fice w^hich  the  person  brought  :  for  laying  his  hands  be- 
tween the  horns  of  the  sacrifice,  he  was  to  say,  "  O  Lord, 
I  have  sinned,  I  have  done  wickedly,  I  have  dealt 
falsely  before  thee.  Behold,  I  repent,  I  am  ashamed  of 
my  deeds,  I  will  never  do  that  thing  any  more  ;"  which 
was  as  high  and  solemn  an  expression  of  their  repentance 
as  could  be  w^ell  devised.  And  the  Jews  themselves  ac- 
knowledge also,  that  the  sacrifices  were'  of  no  efficacy 
nor  advantage  at  all,  nor  expiated  any  sin,  without  re- 
pentance and  confession.  And  therefore  the  prophets  all 
along  make  repentance  necessary  unto  pardon,  notwith- 
standing all  their  sacrifice  ;  as,  Repent  and  turn  yourselves 
from,  your  transgressions  so  iniquity  shall  not  be  your  ruin^ 
Ezek.  xviii.  30,  and  so  frequently  elsew^here.  Indeed, 
this  was  one  great  end  of  all  the  bloody  sacrifices,  to  put 
the  people  in  mind  of  the  heinousness  of  their  sins,  which 
could  not  be  expiated  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  and 
so  to  put  them  upon  an  hearty  and  sincere  repentance 
for  them. 

And  as  for  faith,  they  had  continual  occasion  given 
them  for  the  exercise  of  that,  in  all  the  sacrifices  which 
were  offered  for  the  expiation  of  sin  :  faith  in  God,  in  that 
the}^  were  offered  to  him  ;  and  faith  in  the  promised  Mes- 
siah or  Christ,  in  that  they  were  offered  for  the  expiation 
of  sin.  For  they  could  not  imagine  that  there  was  any 
such  virtue  in  the  blood  of  beasts,  as  to  satisfy  God,  the 
Almighty  Creator  of  the  world,  for  the  sins  which  they 
had  committed  against  him,  and  so  could  have  no  ground 
to  expect  or  hope,  that  he  would  pardon  them  for  the 
sake  of  a  company  of  slain  beasts  ;  but  all  their  hopes  of 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  223 

pardon  were  grounded  upon  God's  promise  annexed  to 
such  sacrifices,  as  that  was  upon  the  death  of  Christ,  typi- 
fied and  represented  by  them.  For  il  is  onlij  through  his 
blood  that  we  can  have  forgiveness  of  sins  ^  Col.  i.  14.  He 
is  that  true  Lamb  of  God^  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
worlds  John  i.  29,  that  Lamb  without  spot  and  blemish,  by 
whose  precious  blood  ive  are  redeemed,  1  Pet.  i.  19,  ivho 
gave  himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a 
sweet -smelling  savor,  Eph.  v.  2,  ichose  soul  teas  made  an 
offering  for  sin,  or  a  sin-offering,  as  the  prophet  himself 
speaks,  Isaiah  liii.  7  0.  All  other  sin-offerings  were  only 
types  and  shadows  of  his  :  that  which  he  offered,  by  offer- 
ing up  himself,  was  the  substance,  the  true  and  real  sa- 
crifice which  expiated  the  sins  of  the  world.  This  they 
knew  before  as  well,  though  not  so  clearly,  as  we  do 
since  it  happened  ;  as  appears  not  only  from  the  prophet 
before  quoted,  but  from  many  places  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. And  therefore  they  believed  in  Christ  as  well  as 
we.  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  Christ'' s  day  ;  he  saw  it  and 
was  glad.  John  viii.  56.  Moses  esteemed  the  reproaches  of 
Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  Heb. 
xi.  26,  for  the  Gospel  was  preached  to  them  as  ivell  as 
unto  us,  Heb.  iv.  2.  And,  indeed,  the  chief  end  of  their 
sacrifices  was  to  put  them  in  mind  of  that  which  Christ 
was  to  offer  for  them  ;  and  so  to  give  them  occasion  to 
exercise  their  faith,  and  put  their  confidence  in  him  for 
pardon  and  salvation.  And  therefore  these  ordinances 
were  indeed  their  means  of  grace,  whereby  they  obtained 
the  mercy  and  assistance  of  God  for  the  pardon  of  their 
sins,  and  the  acceptance  of  their  sincere  instead  of  perfect 
righteousness,  through  the  blood  of  Christ  and  his  merits 
and  intercession  for  them. 

Now  these  ordinances  having  respect  to  Christ  as  to 


224:  UNIVERSAL    OBEDIENCE 

come  afterwards,  and  so  being  fitted  only  for  that  time, 
before  his  coming  in  the  flesh,  they  must  needs  cease  in 
course  when  he  was  once  come,  and  had  actually  offered 
up  himself  for  the  sins  of  the  world  ;  and  it  was  then  ne- 
cessary there  should  be  other  ordinances  instituted  in  their 
place,  as  the  ordinary  means  whereby  mankind  might  ob- 
tain grace,  and  the  favor  of  God,  through  Christ,  to  the 
end  of  the  world.  And  these  we  are  now  as  much  obliged 
to  walk  in,  as  they  were  in  theirs,  if  we  desire  to  be 
righteous  before  God  ;  that  is,  to  come  up  to  the  terms 
of  the  Gospel,  by  repenting  of  our  sins,  and  believing  in 
Christ,  so  as  that  we  may  be  justified  before  God,  by  his 
merits  and  mediation  for  us. 

Of  this  sort  is,  first,  the  solemn  hearing  of  God's  holy 
word  read,  expounded,  or  preached  publicly  by  a  minis- 
ter of  his  own,  commissionated  to  do  it  in  liis  name. 
They  had  something,  I  confess,  of  this  before.  For 
Moses  of  old  time  had  in  every  city  them  thai  preached  him, 
being  read  in  the  synagogues  every  sabbath-day.  Acts  xv. 
21.  And  so  this  might  in  some  sense  be  one  of  those 
ordinances  which  they  also  walked  in  :  but  the  Scrip- 
tures, especially  such  as  related  to  our  Saviour,  were  so 
obscure  then,  and  wrapped  up  in  such  types  and  figures, 
that  the  reading  of  them  could  not  be  so  effectual  to  the 
working  in  them  true  repentance,  and  faith  in  Christ,  as  it 
is  now;  when  we  have  all  the  mysteries  of  our  salvation 
by  him  so  clearly  and  fully  revealed  to  us  by  himself  and 
his  Apostles  ;  whereby  the  hearing  of  God's  holy  Word 
is  now  become  quite  another  thing,  and  so  great  a  means 
of  grace  and  salvation,  that  many  have  been  converted  by 
the  hearing  of  one  chapter  read,  or  one  sermon  preached 
as  it  ought  to  be  :  as  St.  Peter's  preaching  that  one  short 
sermon  upon  tlu*  day  of  Pentecost,  about  ihree  thousand 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  225 

souls  were  pricked  in  their  hearts,  and  so  repented  and  turn- 
ed to  Christ,  Acts  ii.  37,  41.  And  after  the  same  Apostle 
had  preached  another  sermon  in  ihe  temple,  it  is  said, 
Many  that  heard  the  word  believed  ;  and  the  number  of  the 
men  was  about  jive  thousand,  Acts  iv.  4.  And  while 
the  Apostle  was  preaching  to  Cornelius  and  his  friends j 
the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  that  heard  the  word,  Acts 
X.  44.  Many  such  examples  we  have  in  the  Acts,  of 
those  who  were  turned  from  darkness  to  light,  from  the 
powder  of  Satan  unto  God,  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
which  St.  Paul  therefore  calls,  the  power  of  God,  1  Cor.  i. 
18.  And  so  it  appeared  to  be,  in  that  the  greatest  part 
of  the  known  woild  was  by  this  means  converted  to  the 
Christian  faith.  And  to  this  day  it  hath  the  same  power 
and  efficacy  as  it  ever  had,  as  many  have  found  by  their 
own  experience  ;  and  if  it  ever  fail  of  having  the  same 
effect,  it  is  not  for  want  of  power  in  the  word  preached, 
but  by  reason  of  some  indisposition  in  them  that  hear  it : 
the  ground  is  bad,  and  then  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  seed 
sown  never  comes  to  perfection. 

And  besides,  as  by  this  means  men  are  brought  to  a 
due  sense  of  their  sins,  and  to  a  sincere  repentance  for 
them,  so  likewise  to  true  faith  in  Christ.  For,  as  the 
apostle  saith,  faith  comes  by  hearing,  Rom.  x.  27.  By 
this  we  are  instructed  in  what  we  ought  to  believe,  and 
by  this  we  are  enabled  to  believe  what  we  are  so  in- 
structed in  :  by  this  our  faith  is  begun,  and  by  this  we 
are  confirmed  and  strengthened  in  it :  by  this  our  under- 
standings are  enlightened,  our  judgments  informed,  and 
our  hearts  opened,  as  Lydia's  was,  to  receive  the  Mord 
in  love  of  it :  by  this,  God  is  pleased  to  manifest  himself 
to  us,  and  to  incline  our  minds  to  him,  his  own  Holy 
Spirit  usually  working  together  with  his  word,  to  make 


226  UNIVERSAL    OBEDIENCE 

it  effectual  to  those  great  ends  and  purposes  for  which  he 
haih  ordained  it.  And  therefore  this  is  an  ordinance 
which  we  must  always  walk  in,  as  ever  we  desire  to 
come  to  the  end  of  our  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  our 
souls. 

Another  ordinance  is  that  of  praying  and  praising  God 
together,  which  in  the  Jewish  Church  was  joined  with 
their  sacrifices  and  incense  ;  for  every  day  throughout 
the  year,  they  were  hound  to  offer  two  lambs,  the  one 
in  the  morning,  the  other  in  the  evening,  for  a  burnt- 
offering  :  and  upon  the  Sabbath,  and  other  extraordinary 
days,  they  were  to  offer  more  ;  at  which  times  the  peo- 
ple were  bound  to  be  there,  and  they  who  made  con- 
science of  their  duty  seldom  failed.  Now  when  the 
burnt-offering  began,  the  singers  sang,  the  trumpeters 
sounded,  and  all  the  congregation  fell  upon  their  faces, 
and  worshipped  and  prayed,  as  w'e  read  in  Hezekiah's 
time,  2  Chron.  xxix.  28.  So  also,  Eccles.  1.  17,  18,  19. 
And  this  continued  till  the  burnt-offering  Avas  finished  : 
after  that  the  priest  went  to  the  altar  of  incense  before 
the  veil,  which  the  people  without  in  the  outward  court 
having  notice  of,  they  all  fell  to  their  prayers,  every  one 
praying  to  himself,  without  speaking  a  word  ;  and  this 
continued  all  the  while  the  incense  was  burning,  which 
was  usually  about  half  an  hour,  their  prayers  ascending 
up  to  heaven,  as  they  supposed,  together  with  the  in- 
cense. And  therefore  none  of  them  offered  to  go  away 
or  leave  off  their  prayers  till,  the  incense  being  all  burnt, 
the  j)riest  came  out  to  pronounce  the  blessing,  Numb.  vi. 
24.  This  David  alludes  to,  where  he  saith,  Let  my 
prayer  come  before  thee  as  hicense,  and  the  lifting  up  of  my 
hands  as  the  evening  sacrifice,  Psal.  cxli.  2.  This  being 
indeed   their  constant    way  of  praying,  they  commonly 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  227 

reckoning  no  prayers  acceptable  to  God,  except  they 
were  joined  with  burnt-offerings  or  incense.  But  such 
offerings  were  themselves  looked  upon  as  praying,  and 
called  by  that  name,  1  Sam.  xiii.  12. 

These  things  I  mention  here,  that  you  may  understand 
their  way  of  praying  under  the  old  law,  and  some  pas- 
sages also  in  this  history  of  Zacharias  :  for  it  is  here  said, 
that  whilst  he  was  gone  into  the  temple  or  tabernacle  to 
burn  incense,  "  the  whole  multitude  of  the  people  were 
praying  without  at  the  time  of  incense,"  Luke  i.  10. 
And  afterwards  it  is  said,  "  that  the  people  waited  for 
Zacharias,  and  marvelled  that  he  tarried  so  long  in  the 
temple,"  ver.  21.  "  And  when  he  came  out,  he  could 
not  speak  to  them,"  ver.  22.  They  had  been  at  their 
devotions  longer  than  the  incense  used  to  be  burning,  and 
therefore  could  not  but  wonder  what  should  be  the  rea- 
son he  stayed  so  long  :  howsoever,  they  durst  not  go  away 
till  he  came  to  give  them  the  blessing  ;  but  when  he 
came  out,  he  could  not  speak,  he  could  not  pronounce 
the  blessing,  but  only  beckoned  to  them,  by  which  they 
perceived  that  he  had  seen  a  vision  ;  as  he  really  had, 
and  was  struck  dumb  with  it  too,  to  show  that  the  fore- 
runner of  Christ,  being  now  to  be  born,  and  by  conse- 
quence Christ  himself  to  follow  soon  after,  the  Levitical 
priesthood  was  now  to  cease  ;  that  those  kind  of  priests 
were  not  much  longer  to  bless  the  people,  but  that  this 
whole  ordinance  or  way  of  worship  and  praying  by  typi- 
cal sacrifices  and  incense  was  to  be  abolished,  and  another 
introduced  in  its  room. 

And  so  verily  there  was;  for  praying  under  the  Gos- 
pel is  quite  another  thing  from  what  it  m  as  then  :  for 
our  prayers  are  now  directed  to  God  in  the  name  and  by 
the  mediation  of  him  v/hom  all  their  legal  sacrifices  and 


"^ 


228         UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE 

incense  only  typitied ;  which  theirs  were  not :  for  we 
seldom  find  them  mentioning  the  Messiah  in  their  pray- 
ers, nor  to  have  had  any  respect  to  him,  but  as  he  was 
represented  by  their  sacrifices ;  whereas  it  is  certain,  that 
it  is  only  in  and  through  him,  that  any  prayers  that  men 
make  can  be  heard,  or  his  praises  accepted  before  God. 
This  himself  takes  notice  of,  saying  to  his  disciple  brought 
up  in  the  Jewish  religion,  "  Hitherto  have  ye  asked  no- 
thing in  my  name,"  John  xvi.  24.  But  then  he  saith 
withal,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  the  Father  in  my  name,  he  will  give  it  you," 
ver.  23.  And  again,  "  At  that  day  ye  shall  ask  in  my 
name  :  and  I  say  not  unto  you,  that  I  will  pray  the  Fa- 
ther for  you  ;  for  the  Father  himself  loveth  you,  because 
ye  have  loved  me,  and  have  believed  that  1  came  out 
from  God,"  ver.  26,  27.  As  if  he  had  said,  I  need  not 
tell  you,  or  I  say  not  only  to  you,  that  I  will  pray  for 
you,  that  your  prayers  may  be  heard,  but  that  my  Father 
loves  you  for  my  sake,  and  for  my  sake  therefore  ye 
may  be  sure  that  he  will  hear  your  prayers.  And  else- 
where he  saith,  ^'  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  namei, 
that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the 
Son,"  John  xiv.  13,  14.  From  whence  we  may  observe, 
that  Christ  being  now  in  heaven,  and  there  appearing  as 
our  Advocate  before  the  presence  of  God  for  us,  he  takes 
notice  of  all  the  prayers  which  ar6  put  up  in  his  name, 
and  takes  care  they  be  all  answered,  so  far  as  what  we 
ask  is  really  good  for  us. 

And  that  we  may  the  better  understand  how  he  doth 
this,  it  was  clearly  described  in  a  vision  to  St.  John, 
when  he  saw  an  angel  come  and  stand  at  the  altar,"  hav- 
ing a  golden  censer  ;  and  there  was  given  unto  him  much 
incense,  that  he  should   oflfer  it  with  the  prayers  of  all 


REai^ISITE    TO    SALVATION.  229 

saints,  upon  the  golden  altar  which  was  before  the  throne. 
And  the  smoke  of  the  incense,  which  came  with  the 
prayers  of  the  saints,  ascended  up  before  God,  out  of  the 
angel's  hand,"  Rev.  viii.  3,  4.  Where  the  angel  is 
Christ,  the  golden  censer  his  body  or  human  nature,  the 
incense  his  merits,  with  which  he  offers  up  the  prayers 
of  all  saints,  and  so  makes  them  effectual.  Of  all  which, 
the  incense  that  was  used  together  with  their  prayers  in 
the  Mosaic  law,  was  only  a  type  or  figure  :  this  of 
Christ's  merits  is  that  real  and  substantial  incense  that 
perfumes  our  prayers,  and  renders  them  acceptable  to 
God. 

And  not  only  our  prayers,  but  our  praises  too,  which 
always  are  or  should  be  joined  with  them  ;  for  they  also, 
by  reason  of  Christ's  merits  and  mediation  for  us,  are 
accepted  of  as  real  sacrifices  offered  up  to  God  by  him. 
"By  him,  therefore,"  saith  the  apostle,  ''  let  us  offer  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continually,  that  is,  the  fruit  of 
our  lips,  giving  thanks  to  his  name,"  Heb.  xiii.  15.  And 
thus  it  is,  that  instead  of  the  typical  and  material  sacri- 
fices of  the  old  law,  we  now  offer  up  real  and  "  spir- 
itual sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  1 
Pet.  ii.  5, 

Hence,  therefore?  we  may  see,  how  great  an  ordinance 
this  of  public  prayer  is,  and  how  effectual  a  means  of 
grace  and  salvation,  especially  as  it  is  managed  in  our 
Church,  wherein  all  our  prayers  to  God  are  directed  to 
Him  only  in  the  name  of  his  only  begotten  Son,  all  con- 
cluding with  these  words,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord^ 
or  others  to  the  same  effect.  Neither  do  we  put  them 
up  only  once  or  twice  a  week ;  but  as  the  Jews  had  their 
daily  sacrifices,  so  we  have.- our  daily  prayers,  every 
morning  and  evening  ;  and  every  time  we  meet  together 
11 


230         UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE 

to  offer  up  these  our  spiritual  sacrifices,  we  praise  God 
for  every  good  thing  we  have,  and  pray  unto  him  for 
everything  we  want,  that  can  he  good  for  us.     And  all 
this   being   done  only  in  the   nanr.e  of  our  great  High 
Priest,  who  is  always  interceding  for  us,  and  presenting 
our  prayers  to  his  Father  with  the   incense  of  his  own 
all-sufficient  merits,  if  we  be  not  failing  to  ourselves  in 
acting  our  faith  upon  him,  we  can  never  fail  of  a  gracious 
acceptance  with  Almighty  God,  nor,  by  consequence,  of 
the  manifold  blessings  that  follow  upon  it.     So  that  by 
this  means  we  may  obtain  grace  to  repent  of  all  the  errors 
of  our  life  past :  by   this  means  we  may  obtain  a  quick 
and  lively  faith  in  Christ  our  Saviour  :  by  this  means  we 
may  obtain  the  pardon  of  all  the  sins  we  ever  committed  : 
by  this  means  we  may  obtain  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  to 
mortify  our  lusts,  and  to  quicken  us  with  newness  of 
life  :  to  keep  us  from  heresy  and  vice,  and  lead  us  into 
all  truth  and  virtue  ;  to  open  our  eyes,  enlighten  our 
minds,  purify  our  hearts,  and  sanctify  us  wholly  in  soul, 
body,  and  spirit :  in  short,  by  this  means  we  may  be  de- 
fended from  all  our  enemies,  protected  from  all  manner 
of  evil,  directed  in  all  our  affairs,  and  endowed  with  all 
things  necessary  both  for  life  and  godliness,  to  make  us 
holy  here,  and  happy  both  now  and  for  ever. 

But  for  this  purpose,  there  is  another  ordinance  to  be 
often  joined  with  this  of  prayer,  and  that  is,  the  ordinance  of 
fasting,  which  though  it  be  of  no  great  power  and  virtue 
without  prayer,  yet  if  duly  performed,  it  adds  great  power 
and  virtue  to  it ;  as  our  Saviour  himself  plainly  intimates, 
where  he  saith,  there  are  some  kind  of  devils^  that  go  not 
out  hut  hy  prayer  and  fasting  together,  Matt.  xvii.  21  : 
and  therefore  they  who  would  be  righteous,  must 
often  walk  in  this,  as  well  as  any  other  ordinance.     This 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  231 

being  the  great  means  whereby  to  keep  our  bodies  under, 
and  our  passions  in  order  ;  to  clear  up  our  apprehen- 
sions of  spiritual  things,  and  incline  our  affections  to 
them  ;  to  take  off  our  minds  from  the  earth,  and  raise 
them  up  to  heaven  ;  to  fix  our  thoughts  in  prayer,  and 
to  make  our  desires  more  intense  and  fervent.  In  a 
vs^ord,  this  is  the  great  means  whereby  to  cleanse  our 
hearts  from  vicious  and  corrupt  humors,  and  so  to  make 
them  fit  temples  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in. 

There  are  still  two   evangelical    ordinances   behind, 
without  which,  where  they  may  be  had,  the  other  will 
not  do  our   business,  and  they  are  the  two  Sacraments, 
Baptism,  and  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  whereof  the  first  was 
brought  into  the  place  of  Circumcision,  which  was  no 
part  of  the  Levitical  law,  but  an  ordinance  instituted  long 
before  Moses,  when   God  was  pleased  to  establish  his 
covenant  with  Abraham,  and  to  ordain  this  to  be  the  sign 
of  it,  saying,   This  is  my  covenant,  which  ye  shall  keep 
betiveen  me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  ;  Every  male 
child  among  you  shall  he  circumcised.     Gen.  xvii.   10. 
And  ye  shall  circumcise  the  flesh  of  your  foreskin,  and  it 
shall  be  a  token  of  the  covenant  between  me  and  you,  ver. 
11.     And  from  that  time  forward,  this  was  the  constant 
way  appointed  by   God  himself,  for  admitting  any  into 
the  covenant  with  him,  which  covenant  being  established 
in  the  blood  of  Christ,  in  token  thereof  none  were  admit- 
ted into  it  without  blood,  which  was  shed  in  circumcision. 
But  instead  of  that  troublesome  and  painful  ordinance, 
Christ  hath  commanded  that  persons  be  initiated  into  his 
Church,  and  made  his  disciples,  by  being  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 
Which  is  as  plain  and  easy  a  way  as  could  be  found  out ;  and 
is  not,  therefore,  to  be  slighted  or  neglected,  bipt  rather  the 
more  highly  esteemed,  and  the  more  diligently  observed. 


232  UNIVERSAL   OBEDIENCE 

As  when  Elisha  bade  Naaman  the  Syrian  only  go  and 
wash  himself  seven  times  in  Jordan,  and  he  shall  be  cur- 
ed of  his  leprosy.  Naaman  at  first  was  angry  that  the 
prophet  required  so  little  a  thing  of  him,  and  therefore 
would  not  do  it ;  until  his  servants,  being  wiser  than  their 
lord,  said  to  him,  "My  father,  if  the  prophet  had  bid  thee 
do  some  great  thing,  wouldst  thou  not  have  done  it  ? 
How  much  rather  then,  when  he  saith  to  thee,  Wash, 
and  be  clean  ?"  2  Kings  v.  13.  So  here,  Christ  only 
bids  us  wash,  and  we  shall  be  clean  ;  and  tells  us  w  ithal, 
that  "  except  a  man  be  thus  born  again  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,'' 
John  iii,  5.  But  that  "  whosoever  believeth  and  is  bap- 
tized, shall  be  saved,"  Matt.  xvi.  16.  And  therefore 
they  who  despise  or  neglect  to  do  so  easy  a  thing  as  this, 
at  his  command,  have  no  more  ground  to  expect  to  be 
saved  by  him,  than  Naaman  had  to  be  cured  of  his  leprosy 
if  he  had  not  washed  himself  in  Jordan  as  the  prophet 
bade  him. 

But  this  is  an  ordinance  which  we  cannot  so  properly 
be  said  to  walk  in,  because  it  is  to  be  done  only  once  in 
a  man's  hfe.  But  howsoever,  as  Zacharias  and  Eliza- 
beth took  care  to  have  their  son  circumcised  according 
to  God's  command,  so  are  all  parents  as  much  obliged  to 
have  their  children  baptized  according  to  Christ's  institu- 
tion, otherwise  they  are  not  like  these  two,  righteous  be- 
fore God,  as  not  walkinoj  in  all  the  commandments  and 
ordinances  of  the  Lord,  as  they  did. 

The  other  Sacrament  is  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
which  our  Lord  himself  ordained  immediately  before  he 
was  betrayed  and  apprehended,  in  order  to  his  being 
offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world  ;  for  all 
legal  sacriik;es  being  only  types  of  his,  and  therefore  to 
have  an  end,  and  expire  together  v/ith  him,  our  Lord  M'as 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  233 

pleased  to  institute  this,  not  for  a  propitiatory  sacrifice, 
as  the  papists  absurdly  imagine,  but  as  a  commemorative 
sacrifice,  to  put  his  Church  always  in  mind  of  that  which 
he  then  oiFered,  by  that  one  oblation  of  himself  for  the 
sins  of  mankind.  Do  this,  saith  he,  in  remembrance  of  me, 
Luke  xxii.  17.  By  whicli  means  this  Sacrament  sup- 
plies the  defect  of  all  the  Levitical  sacrifices,  the  paschal 
lamb,  the  sin-offerings,  the  trespass-offerings,  the  peace- 
offerings,  tlie  thank-offerings,  the  whole  burnt-offerings  ; 
they  are  all  now  laid  aside,  and  this  one  substituted  in 
their  place,  of  more  power  and  efficacy  to  the  ends  for 
which  they  were  ordained,  than  all  they  put  together  ;  for 
they  only  foreshowed  Chrisi's  death  until  it  happened, 
this  shows  it  forth  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  for,  as  the 
apostle  saith,  "  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this 
cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  until  he  come,"  1  Cor. 
xi.  26.  And  that  nothing  might  be  wanting  in  this  sacra- 
ment which  was  of  any  use  in  the  Levitical  law,  where- 
soever it  is  administered,  we  offer  up  something  of  what 
God  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  as  a  free-will  offering,  in  ac- 
knowledgment, as  of  all  the  other  blessings  we  have  re- 
ceived from  him,  and  hold  continually  of  him,  so  especial- 
ly of  this,  the  fountain  and  foundation  of  them  all,  even 
the  death  which  his  only  Son  was  pleased  to  undergo  for  us. 
This,  therefore,  being  that  holy  Sacrament,  which  our 
Saviour  himself  substituted  into  the  room  of  all  legal 
sacrifices,  and  ordained  in  memory  of  himself,  we  must 
needs  be  obliged  to  receive  it  as  oft  as  possibly  we  can. 
It  is  true,  he  hath  prescribed  no  set  times  for  it,  as  he  did 
for  the  sacrifices  under  the  law  ;  yet,  howevrer,  seeing  it 
comes  into  their  place,  it  ought  to  bear  some  proportion 
with  them  in  this  respect,  at  least  so  far,  that  as  they, 
besides  their  daily,  had  their  weekly  sacrifices  more  than 


234         UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE 

ordinary  upon  the  sabbath-day  :  so  we  should  celebrate 
this  holy  Sacrament  once  a  week  upon  the  Lord's-day,  as 
we  find  the  Apostles  did.  And  seeing  Christ  has  limited 
no  time  for  it,  we  ought  not  to  limit,  but  extend  it  as  far  as 
we  can,  so  as  to  lay  hold  of  all  opportunities  that  are  put 
into  our  hands,  of  celebrating  the  memory  of  the  best 
friend  that  we  ever  had,  and  the  greatest  act  of  love  that 
ever  was  or  ever  can  be  done  for  us. 

Especially  considering  the  mighty  benefits  and  advan- 
tages that  accrue  to  us  by  a  due  and  worthy  receiving  of 
this  holy  Sacrament.  Hereby  we  are  put  in  mind  of  the 
sinfulness  of  sin,  and  the  dreadful  punishments  which  are 
due  unto  it,  seeing  nothing  less  than  the  blood  of  the  Son 
of  God  could  expiate  it.  Hereby  our  minds  are  set 
against  it,  and  our  w^hole  souls  are  taught  to  abhor  and 
loathe  it.  Hereby  we  exercise  our  faith  in  Christ,  for  the 
pardon  of  all  our  faults,  and  have  them  accordingly  par- 
doned to  us  :  hereby  we  wash  ourselves  over  again,  as  it 
were  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  of  God  w^hich  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin  :  hereby  we  derive  power  and  virtue  from 
Christ,  to  withstand  the  temptations  of  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil,  and  to  serve  God  with  a  perfect 
heart  and  a  willing  mind  :  hereby  we  dwell  in  Christ, 
and  Christ  in  us  ;  we  are  one  with  Christ,  and  Christ  with 
us  :  hereby  our  repentance  is  renewed,  our  faith  con- 
firmed, our  sins  weakened,  our  graces  strengthened,  our 
hearts  comforted,  and  our  souls  fitted  to  live  with  Christ 
in  the  other  world  :  for  as  our  bodies  are  nourished  by  bread 
and  wine,  so  by  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  here  mystical- 
ly received,  our  souls  are  nourished  and  preserved  to  ever- 
lasting life  :  as,  I  hope,  many  of  us  shall  now  find  by 
experience. 

These  are,  in  short,  those  ordinances  which  we  must 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  235 

all  walk  in,  if  we  desire  to  be,  like  Zacharias  and  Eliza- 
beth, righteous  before  God.  Neither  must  we  content 
ourselves  with  anyone  or  more  of  them,  but  as  we  must 
walk  in  all  the  commandments,  so  we  must  walk  in  all 
the  ordinances  too  :  for  they  also  are  all  commanded  by 
the  same  Lord  ;  and  therefore  all  the  same  reasons  that 
oblige  us  to  observe  any  of  the  commandments,  oblige  us 
also  to  observe  them  ;  and  the  omission  or  neglect  of  any 
of  them  is  as  great  a  sin,  and  makes  us  liable  to  as  great 
punishments,  as  the  transgression  of  any  other  command- 
ment can  do. 

And  besides,  these  are  not  only  commanded  themselves, 
but  they  are  appointed  to  be  ordinances  and  means 
whereby  we  may  be  enabled  to  keep  all  the  other  com- 
mandments :  and  therefore  they  who  do  not  keep  these, 
may  be  confident  that  they  keep  none  at  all,  there  being 
no  way  to  attain  the  end,  without  using  the  means  ;  all 
the  means  that  are  necessarily  required  in  order  to  it,  as 
be  sure  all  these  are  ;  for  otherwise  they  would  not  be 
required  at  all ;  for  it  cannot  be  imagined,  that  he  who 
came  into  the  world  for  no  other  purpose  but  to  save  us, 
should  require  anything  of  us  but  what  is  necessary  to 
our  salvation.  And  therefore  he  having  commanded  us 
to  be  baptized,  to  read,  and  hear  God's  holy  word  ;  to 
fast  and  pray,  and  praise  his  sacred  name,  and  to  receive  his 
blessed  Sacrament,  we  cannot  possibly  refuse  or  neglect 
any  of  these  ordinances,  without  manifest  prejudice  to  our- 
selves, and  apparent  hazard  of  our  eternal  salvation  by  him. 

Neither  must  ye  think,  that  the  walking  in  any  one  of 
these  ordinances  will  serve  your  turn  without  the  other. 
He  that  walketh  only  part  of  his  way  will  never  come  to 
his  journey's  end.  These  ordinances  are  indeed  the  effec- 
tual means  of  grace,  not  singly,  but  conjunctly  :  not  one 


236  UNIVERSAL    OBEDIENCE 

by  one,  but  altogether  :  they  are  all  the  way  that  leads 
to  heaven,  and  he  that  goes  not  quite  through  them,  had 
as  good  stand  still,  and  never  step  into  them  ;  for  they 
all  depend  upon,  and  influence,  assist,  and  forward  one 
another.  By  hearing  God's  holy  word,  we  are  made 
sensible  of  our  sins  ;  by  fasting,  we  humble  ourselves  for 
them  ;  by  prayer,  we  obtain  the  pardon  of  them  ;  and 
by  the  holy  Sacrament  we  obtain  that  pardon  sealed  to 
us  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  By  hearing,  our  faith  is  be- 
gun ;  by  fasting,  it  is  quickened  ;  by  praying,  it  is  in- 
creased ;  and  by  the  Sacrament,  it  is  confirmed  and 
strengthened.  Again,  by  hearing,  we  come  to  know  our 
duty  ;  by  fasting,  w^e  are  disposed  for  it  ;  by  praying, 
we  are  inclined  to  it ;  and  by  the  Sacrament,  we  are 
enabled  to  perform  it :  or,  in  short,  take  it  thus  :  hearing 
makes  us  wise  ;  fasting,  humble  ;  praying,  devout  ;  and 
the  receiving  of  the  Lord's  Supper  makes  us  ''  steadfast, 
unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord," 
assuring  us,  that  "  our  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the 
Lord." 

What,  therefoi-e,  will  it  avail  you  to  observe  any  one 
of  these  ordinances  without  the  olher  .'  Will  that  make 
you  righteous  before  God.-  No,  surely.  If  it  would, 
he  would  never  have  ordained  the  rest ;  but  in  that  he 
hath  ordained  them  all,  one  as  well  as  another,  it  is  plain 
they  are  all,  in  their  several  respects,  as  necessary  to  be 
observed,  in  order  to  your  being  righteous,  as  it  is  for  a 
patient  to  go  through  the  whole  course  of  physic  which 
his  able  physician  prescribes,  if  he  desires  to  be  cured  of 
his  malady. 

Hence,  therefore,  I  cannot  forbear  to  advise  and  be- 
seech you  all,  especially  those  of  this  parish,  who  are 
committed  to  my  charge,  that  you  would  use  all  the  care 


REQUISITE   TO    SALVATION.  237 

and  diligence  you  can,  constantly  to  walk  in  all  and  every 
one  of  these  ordinances  whi^li  Christ  your  Saviour  hath 
ordained,  in  order  to  your  obtaining  salvation  by  him. 
I  am  very  sensible  that  I  must  ere  long  give  up  an  ac- 
count of  my  stewardship  to  my  great  Lord  and  Master, 
and  therefore  dare  not  but  administer  these  means  of 
grace  to  you  as  often  as  the  Church  or  your  necessities 
require  it.  You  have  the  word  of  God  read  constantly 
every  day  in  the  week,  and  expounded  or  preached 
every  Lord's  day,  and  that  too  in  so  plain  and  familiar  a 
way,  that,  I  hope,  the  meanest  capacity  in  the  congre- 
gation may  understand  it.  You  have  the  public  prayers 
and  praises  of  our  Church  read  to  you  every  day  through- 
out the  year,  according  to  the  best  form  that  was  ever 
composed  by  any  Church  ;  you  are  put  in  mind  of  keep- 
ing your  bodies  under  by  fasting  and  abstinence,  as  often 
as  the  Church  requires  it,  or  the  common  experience  of 
all  Christians  hath  found  it  necessary.  You  have  the 
Sacrament  of  Baptism  administered  upon  all  occasions, 
in  your  sight  and  hearing,  to  put  you  in  mind  of  the  sol- 
emn vow  and  promise  which  you  made  when  you  your- 
selves were  baptized.  You  have  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  administered  every  Lord's  day  in  the  year, 
and  are  as  constantly  invited  to  it,  and  exhorted  to  par- 
take of  it ;  and  if  there  be  anything  else  that  can  conduce 
anything  towards  the  building  you  up  in  your  most  holy 
faith,  and  so  to  your  eternal  salvation,  I  shall  be  as  ready 
to  administer  it  as  you  can  be  to  desire  it.  And  what 
defects  Almighty  God  sees  (as  I  am  conscious  to  myself 
he  sees  a  great  many)  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty 
towards  you,  1  hope,  for  his  Son's  sake,  he  will  pardon 
them  all  to  me,  and  make  them  up  some  other  way  to 
you.  And  therefore,  if  it  be  not  your  own  faults,  none 
11* 


238         UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE 

of  you  but  may  attain  eternal  life  and  happiness  through 
Christ,  in  the  use  of  thes^ means,  which  he  for  that 
very  purpose  hath  ordained,  and  caused  to  be  so  con- 
stantly administered  to  you,  according  to  the  order  and 
direction  of  that  most  excellent  Church  you  live  in. 

But  if  you,  after  all,  slight,  despise,  or  neglect  these 
ordinances,  or  any  of  them,  I  shall  lose  the  pleasure  of 
giving  up  my  accounts  with  joy,  but  it  is  you  that  will 
feel  the  smart  of  it.  And  then  you  will  wish  with  all 
your  hearts,  that  you  had  neglected  your  carnal  pleasures 
and  profits,  rather  than  prayers  and  sacraments.  But, 
alas  !  then  it  will  be  too  late  ;  wishing  will  do  no  good  ; 
you  once  had  these  opportunities  put  into  your  hands, 
but  you  would  not  make  use  of  them.  You  might  have 
heard  the  word  of  God  solemnly  and  publicly  read  every 
day,  but  you  would  not.  You  might  have  joined  together 
every  day  in  praying  and  praising  God,  but  you  would 
not ;  you  might  have  received  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  every  week,  but  you  would  not ;  except  perhaps 
when  j'^ou  had  nothing  else  to  do.  How  will  the  remem- 
brance of  this  grate  upon  your  consciences  ?  How  will 
it  fret  and  torment  your  souls  ?  What  an  aggravation 
will  this  be  of  your  misery  then,  as  it  is  of  your  sin  now  } 
So  great  an  aggravation,  that  the  consideration  of  it  would 
almost  tempt  me,  if  I  durst,  to  lay  aside  some  part  of 
these  opportunities,  so  as  not  to  administer  the  Word  and 
Sacraments  so  often  as  j'^ou  now  enjoy  them.  But,  alas  ! 
I  dare  not ;  it  is  my  duty  to  administer  them  as  I  do,  and 
therefore  must  continue  it,  and  leave  the  event  to  God 
and  you,  as  knowing  that  these  are  the  means  which  God 
hath  appointed  for  your  salvation  :  and  hoping,  that  al- 
though some,  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  neglect 
them,  to  their  greater  shame  and  confusion,  yet  others, 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  239 

b}'  the  blessing  of  God,  will  improve  them  to  their  greater 
glory  and  happiness  in  the  other  world. 

All  that  I  can  do  more  is  to  admonish  and  exhort  you 
to  walk  with  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth,  as  in  all  the  com- 
mandments, so  likewise  in  all  the  ordinances,  of  the  Lord 
blameless.  Do  not  take  up  with  some  without  the  other, 
nor  with  any  without  all,  nor  yet  with  all,  without  walk- 
ing blameless  in  them.  Catch  at  all  opportunities  you 
can  get  of  presenting  yourself  before  your  heavenly  Father 
in  our  daily  prayers,  and  before  your  blessed  Redeemer 
in  the  holy  Sacrament :  and  come  with  that  presence  of 
mind,  with  that  simplicity  of  heart,  with  that  humility, 
reverence,  and  faith,  as  becomes  such  sacred  ordinances  : 
and  I  dare  assure  you,  your  time  will  not  be  lost,  but  the 
best  spent  of  any  part  of  your  whole  life.  For  by  this 
means  your  hearts  by  degrees  will  be  emptied  of  all  car- 
nal and  worldly  thoughts,  and  filled  with  such  a  sense  of 
God  and  religion,  as  by  his  grace  and  assistance  will  keep 
you  firm  and  steadfast  in  his  faith  and  fear  all  your  life 
long,  and  so  make  you  righteous  before  God  himself. 

How  this  comes  to  pass,  even  how  by  this  means  you 
will  become  righteous  before  God,  is  the  last  thing  I  pro- 
mised to  show,  and  may  easily  do  it :  for  although  I  do 
not  deny,  but  that  after  all  your  endeavors  to  walk  in  all 
the  commandments,  you  will  offend  in  some  ;  and  after 
all  your  endeavors  to  walk  in  all  the  ordinances  of  the 
Lord,  you  will  not  be  altogether  blameless  in  any,  as  not 
performing  them  with  that  perfect  exactness  as  ye  ought ; 
yet  so  o-reat  are  the  mercies  of  God,  and  so  all-sufficient 
are  the  merits  of  your  Saviour,  that  God  for  his  sake  will 
accept  of  what  you  thus  do  sincerely,  as  well  as  if  it  was 
done  perfectly  ;  and  so,  notwithstanding  your  daily  in- 
firmities and  manifold  imperfections,  he  will  look  upon 


240         UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE 

you  in  his  Son  as  righteous,  and  by  consequence  you  tvill 
be  righteous  before  him,  or,  as  the  word  signifies,  in  his 
sight.  He  will  overlook  your  infirmities,  and  take  notice 
only  of  your  sincerity,  and  that  shall  be  well-pleasing  in 
his  sights  through  Jesus  Christy  Heb.  xiii.  21. 

Tiiis  is  that  great  mystery  that  is  revealed  to  us  in  the 
Gospel,  wherein  as  we  are  assured,  that  by  the  deeds  of 
the  law  no  flesh  shall  he  justified^  or  accepted  of  as  right- 
eous in  the  sight  of  God,  Rom.  iii.  20,  so  we  are  assured 
withal,  that  we  are  justified  freely  by  his  grace,  "  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ,"  Rom.  iii.  24, that 
our  spiritual  sacrifices  are  "acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus 
Christ,"  1  Pet.  ii.  5,  that  he  "  hath  made  us  accepted  in  his 
beloved  Son,"  Eph.  i.  6,  that "  he  who  knew  no  sin,  was 
made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  in  him,"  2  Cor.  v.  21,  who  is  therefore  said 
to  be  ''made  righteousness  to  us,"  or  for  us,  1  Cor.  1.  30, 
and  called  *'  the  Lord  our  rightsousness,"  Jer.  xxiii.  6.  The 
meaning  of  all  which  is,  that  although  we  be  not  perfect- 
ly righteous  in  ourselves,  nor  can  be,  so  long  as  we  are 
in  the  body,  yet  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  in  whom 
he  is  w^ell  pleased,  having  in  our  nature  been  obedient 
to  death  for  us,  God  in  him  is  well  pleased  with  us  too, 
and  with  what  we  can  do,  if  we  do  but  sincerely  endea- 
vor to  do  what  we  can  to  obey  him,  and  believe  in  his 
said  Son,  for  his  assistance  of  us  in  the  doing  it,  and  for 
God's  acceptance  of  it  when  it  is  done ;  for  then  God 
looks  upon  us,  not  as  in  ourselves,  but  as  members  of 
that  body  w^hereof  his  Son  is  head,  and  so  as  partakers 
of  all  the  merits  both  of  his  life  and  death  :  whereby  our 
sins  are  not  only  pardoned,  but  all  the  defects  and  imper- 
fections of  our  obedience  are  supplied  and  made  up :  that 
most  perfect  obedience  and  righteousness  which  he  per- 


REQUISITE   TO    SALVATION.  241 

formed  to  God  for  us  being  made  over  to  us,  and  reckon- 
ed as  ours.  In  which,  therefore,  although  we  be  not 
perfectly  so  in  ourselves,  yet  we  appear  as  righteous  be- 
fore God,  and  he  is  pleased  to  accept  of  us  as  much  as  if 
we  were  perfectly  so  in  ourselves,  or  rather  more :  the 
righteousness  which  we  have  in  Christ  being  far  greater 
than  it  was  possible  for  us  to  have  performed  in  our  most 
perfect  state. 

Thus  it  was  that  these  two  persons  in  my  text  became 
righteous  in  the  sight  of  God  before  Christ's  coming ; 
and  therefore  we  cannot  doubt  that  we  who  live  after  it 
may  be  so  too,  if  we  do  but  follow  their  steps,  icalking 
in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blame' 
less. 

And  who  would  not  be  so,  if  he  can.^  If  he  can,  did 
I  say  :  Who  cannot  be  so,  If  he  will :  if  he  will,  I  say, 
but  set  himself  in  good  earnest  about  it.  Blessed  be 
God,  you  are  all  as  yet  not  only  capable  of  being  right- 
eous, but  you  have  all  the  means  that  can  be  desired  in 
order  to  it.  And  if  you  will  not  use  them,  whose  fault 
is  it  t  Whom  can  you  blame  but  yourselves  ?  You 
must  even  lake  what  follows,  and  thank  yourselves  for 
it :  whereas  if  you  be  but  willing  and  obedient,  so  as  to 
seek  the  righteousness  of  God  before  all  things  else,  and 
walk  in  all  the  ways  that  lead  to  it,  you  cannot  miss  of 
it,  but  may  as  certainly  have  this  testimony  as  ever  Zacha- 
rias  and  Elizabeth  had  it,  that  you  are  righteous  before 
God. 

And  one  would  think,  that  you  should  not  need  many 
arguments,  or  much  entreaty,  to  endeavor  all  you  can 
after  it ;  it  being  your  own  interest  and  concern,  and  that 
the  o-realest  that  you  have  or  can  have  in  the  world  ; 
which  that  I  may  convince  you  of,  I  desire  you  to  con- 


242  UNIVERSAL    OBEDIENCE 

sider  only  one  thing,  and  that  is,  that  righteous  persons 
are  the  only  happy  persons  in  the  world,  both  in  this 
world  and  the  next. 

In  this  world  there  are  many,  I  know,  esteemed  very 
happy  :  they  that  have  crowns  upon  their  heads,  sceptres 
in  their  hands,  and  whole  kingdoms  at  their  feet :  they 
that  have  stately  houses,  large  estates,  great  possessions 
at  command:  they  that  are  beloved  and  honored  by 
their  neighbors,  and  have  many  servants  waiting  con- 
tinually upon  them :  they  that,  like  Dives,  are  clothed 
in  purple  and  fine  lincn^  and  fare  delicionshj  every  day: 
they  that  feed  upon  dainties,  drink  the  choicest  wines,  lie 
upon  beds  of  down,  and  have  their  fill  of  all  earthly  en- 
joyments :  these  are  reckoned  the  happy  people  of  the 
world,  in  comparison  of  whom  the  rest  of  mankind  are  a 
company  of  miserable  and  contemptible  wretches.  But, 
alas !  what  is  there  in  all  this  to  make  men  happy !  No- 
thing certainly,  unless  men  were  like  brutes,  capable  of 
no  other  happiness  but  what  consisteth  in  pleasing  their 
senses,  gratifying  their  appetites,  or  tickling  their  disturb- 
ed imaginations.  But  true  happiness  is  quite  of  another 
nature,  and  so  far  above  the  reach  of  such  low  and  little 
things,  that  a  man  may  be  as  happy  without  them  as 
with  them,  and  as  miserable  with  them  as  without  them. 
And  therefore  to  find  out  those  who  are  really  the  most 
happy  people  upon  earth,  we  must  search  for  such  as 
have  their  portion  not  in  this  world,  but  the  other ;  for 
such  whose  bellies  are  not  filled  with  hidden  treasure, 
but  whose  souls  are  filled  with  the  treasures  of  true  wis- 
dom and  righteousness  :  for  such  as  are  righteous  before 
God^  walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  Lord  blameless.  These  we  shall  find  to  be  the  only 
happy  people  in  the  world,  in  comparison  of  whom  all 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  243 

the  rest  of  mankind,  howsoever  they  may  think  of  them- 
selves, or  appear  in  the  eyes  of  their  fellow-mortals,  are 
really  poor  and  miserable  creatures.  As  1  do  not  question 
but  you  will  all  acknowledge,  if  you  do  but  consider  the 
great  privileges  that  are  conferred  upon  the  righteous 
above  all  other  men. 

The  righteous,  and  they  only,  are  in  favor  with  God, 
the  supreme  Governor  of  the  world  ;  and  in  so  great 
esteem  with  him,  that  he  calls  them  his  especial,  his 
peculiar  people,  his  treasure,  his  jewels.  They  have  the 
honor  of  waiting  continually  upon  him,  and  of  enjo3'ing 
his  presence,  and  the  light  of  his  countenance.  They 
are  nearly  related  to  all  and  every  person  in  the  most 
sacred  Trinity.  They  have  God  the  Father  to  be  their 
God  and  their  Father,  to  take  care  of  them,  and  to  pro- 
vide all  things  necessary  for  them.  They  have  God  the 
Son  to  be  their  God  and  their  Saviour,  to  save  them  from 
their  sins,  and  to  appear  continually  in  heaven  for  them, 
and  to  prepare  them  a  place  there,  against  they  go  out  of 
this  world.  They  have  God  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  their 
God,  their  Sanclifier,  and  their  Comforter,  to  prevent 
their  falling  into  sin,  to  assist  them  in  their  duty,  and  to 
support  and  comfort  them  in  all  conditions.  They  have 
the  holy  angels  to  minister  unto  them,  and  to  keep  them 
in  all  their  ways.  They  have  all  the  saints  in  heaven 
and  earth  for  their  brethren,  their  companions  and  fellow- 
citizens  :  they  have  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God  to  guide 
and  direct  them  in  all  their  affairs,  and  to  show  them  the 
way  they  ought  to  walk  in  ;  they  have  the  almighty 
power  of  God  to  defend  them  from  all  their  enemies,  and 
to  protect  them  from  all  danger  and  mischief:  they  have 
all  things  in  the  world  working  together  for  their  good, 
and  concurring  to  make  them   happy:  they  have  God's 


244         UNIVERSAL  OBEDIENCE 

blessing  upon  everything  they  do,  and  upon  everything 
they  have,  to  make  it  the  best  that  it  can  be  in  its  kind 
for  them  :  they  hav^e  all  things  that  are  good,  and  nothing 
that  is  evil  or  unprofitable  for  them  :  they  have  all  occur- 
rences, all  circumstances,  all  conditions  of  life  sanctified 
to  them  :  so  that  if  they  fall  into  poverty,  that  is  made 
better  for  them  than  riches  ;  and  so  is  sickness  and  dis- 
grace, than  health  and  honor  :  they  live  under  the  imme- 
diate care  and  conduct  of  God  himself,  whose  eyes  are 
continually  upon  them,  and  his  ears  open  to  their  prayers  : 
they  have  free  access  unto  him  upon  all  occasions,  and 
are  sure  to  obtain  whatsoever  they  ask  that  is  really  good 
for  themselves  or  others.  For  the  effectual  fervent  prayer 
of  the  righteous  man  availeth  much^  James  v.  16.  They 
are  the  salt  of  the  earth,  that  keep  the  rest  of  mankind 
from  being  consumed  ;  as  we  see  in  Sodom,  if  there  had 
been  but  ten  righteous  persons  in  it,  God  would  have 
spared  it  for  their  sakes,  and  would  not  destroy  it  till 
righteous  Lot  was  gone  out. 

Thus  the  Almighty  Governor  of  the  world  hath  a  par- 
ticular kindness  for  the  righteous,  guiding  them  by  his 
counsel  all  the  while  they  are  upon  earth,  and  after- 
wards receiving  them  into  glory  :  for  the  wicked  must  go 
into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life  eter- 
nal. Matt.  xxi.  46.  So  that  after  they  have  lived  a  few 
years  upon  earth,  they  are  all  translated  to  heaven,  where 
they  behold  the  glory,  and  enjoy  the  presence  of  the 
chiefest  good ;  where  they  live  with  Christ,  their  dear 
and  blessed  Saviour,  and  solace  themselves  continually 
in  the  embraces  of  his  love  and  favor  ;  where  all  tears 
are  wiped  from  their  eyes,  all  cares  and  fears  are  ban- 
ished from  their  hearts,  and  all  manner  of  sin  and  imper- 
fections perfectly  rooted  out  from  their  souls;   where 


REQUISITE    TO    SALVATION.  245 

their  spirits  are  made  absolutely  perfect,  and  their  bodies 
fashioned  like  to  Christ's  glorious  body  :  where  they 
have  the  sweet  and  blessed  society  of  their  fellow  glori- 
fied saints,  and  of  the  holy  angels,  being  made  altogether 
equal  to  them  :  where  they  have  all  things  they  can  pos- 
sibly desire,  and  so  are  fully  satisfied  with  what  they 
have ;  where  they  are  as  blessed  as  God  himself  can 
make  them,  and  have  all  the  honor  and  glory  that  he 
can  confer  upon  them  :  where  they  shine  as  the  sun  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father,  Matt.  xiii.  43  ;  where,  in  short, 
they  live  as  cheerfully,  as  pleasantly,  as  honorably,  and 
gloriously,  eveiy  way  as  happily,  as  it  is  possible  for 
creatures  to  live,  and  that  too,  not  only  for  some  time, 
but  for  ever  more. 

Consider  these  things,  and  tell  me,  whether  ye  do  not 
really  think  that  the  righteous  are  the  happiest  persons 
in  the  world  ?  and  whether  it  be  not  your  interest  as 
well  as  duty,  to  endeavor  all  ye  can  to  get  into  the  num- 
ber of  them  ?  I  am  confident  you  cannot  but  all  acknow- 
ledge it ;  and  therefore  hope  that  you  will  for  the  future 
act  accordingly.  Blessed  be  God,  you  are  all  as  yet  in 
a  capacity  of  attaining  to  it ;  yea,  more  than  that,  you 
are  invited,  you  are  exhorted,  you  are  commanded  by 
Almighty  God,  to  ivalk  in  all  his  commandments  and  ordi- 
nances blameless,  and  so  to  be  righteous  before  him. 
Neither  do  you  want  any  of  the  means  that  can  con- 
tribute any  way  towards  it.  These  God  hath  been 
pleased  to  afford  to  you,  and  to  all  that  live  in  the  com- 
munion of  our  Church,  in  a  more  than  ordinary  manner. 
Let  me,  therefore,  beseech  you  in  his  name  to  use  these 
means  so  duly,  so  constantly,  so  sincerely,  so  earnestly, 
that  you  may  at  length  attain  the  end  of  them,  that  it 
may  be  said  of  every  man  and  wife  among  you,  as  it  is 


246  UNIVEIISAL    OBEDIENCE. 

here  of  these  two,  that  they  are  both  righteous  before 
God  ;  and  that  the  same  may  be  truly  asserted  of  all 
single  persons,  that  you  are  not  only  hearers  but  doers 
of  God's  word,  walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  Lord  blameless.  What  a  happy  society, 
what  a  blessed  congregation  of  people,  would  you  then 
be,  shining  as  lights  in  the  w^orld,  as  all  Christians  ought 
to  do  ? 

For  which  purpose,  therefore,  let  me  beg  of  j'ou  to 
imprint  what  you  have  now  heard  so  upon  your  minds, 
that  you  may  never  forget  it ;  but  always  remember,  that 
as  you  can  never  be  happy  unless  you  be  righteous  before 
God ;  so  you  can  never  be  righteous  before  God,  except 
you  walk  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the 
Lord  blameless.  But  if  you  do  that  as  heartily  and  sin- 
cerely as  you  ought,  and  as  near  as  possibly  you  can, 
you  will  soon  fmd  it  worth  all  the  care  and  pains  you 
take  about  it ;  for  I  dare  assure  you,  in  the  name  of  God, 
that  he  for  his  Son's  sake  will  not  only  pardon  what  you 
have  hitherto  done  amiss,  but  likewise  accept  of  you  as 
righteous  before  him,  and  by  consequence  receive  you 
into  his  protection  here,  and  hereafter  into  his  own  kino-- 
dom  and  glory,  through  the  same  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ :  to  whom,  &c. 


SERMON     X 


THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 


Psalm  cxxii.  1. 

I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  inf,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  2'he  heaven  is  my  throne,  and  the 
earth  is  my  footstool:  lohere  is  the  house  that  ye  build  unto 
me?  and  where  is  the  place  of  my  restl  Isa.  Ixvi.  1. 
Whereby  it  hath  pleased  his  divine  goodness  to  signify  to 
us,  that  he  lives  and  reigns  on  high,  infinitely  above  all 
that  we  can  think,  and  that  the  earth  is  at  his  foot,  to  do 
what  he  will  with  it,  and  with  everything  that  is  in  it,  or 
upon  it.  So  that  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory,  and 
the  heaven  of  heavens  is  not  able  to  contain  it.  Where 
then  shall  v/e  build  a  house  }  Where  shall  we  find 
a  place  for  him  to  dwell  in  }  Nowhere  certainly, 
so  as  that  he  should  be  included  in  it.  Yet  never- 
theless, as  he  is  said  to  dwell  in  heaven,  because  he 
there  unveils  himself,  and  shines  forth  in  all  his  glory, 
before  those  pure  and  holy  creatures  that  dwell  there, 
and  are  capable  of  beholding  it :  so  he  is  said  to  dwell 
in  such  places  upon  earth  too,  where  he  is  graciously 
pleased  to  manifest  himself,  and  discover  any  of  his  di- 
vine perfections  in  a  more  peculiar  manner  than  he  doth 
elsewhere  :  as  he  is  often  said  to  dwell  between  the 
cherubims  over  the  mercy-seat,  or  covering  of  the  ark, 
from  whence   he  was  pleased  to  manifest  his  glory,  and 


248  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

make  known  his  will  unto  his  people.  And  wheresoever 
the  ark  was,  there  he  was  said  to  dwell.  So  long  as  it 
was  in  the  tabernacle,  which  Moses  by  his  appointment 
made  for  it,  that  was  called  his  house  or  dwelling-place, 
because  he  there  met  with  his  people,  and  acquainted 
them  with  his  pleasure.  And  when  the  ark  was  put 
into  the  temple  which  Solomon  bailt  for  it  upon  mount 
Zion,  that  was  called  his  house,  not  only  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, but  in  the  New,  by  Christ  himself,  John  ii.  16. 

This,  therefore,  is  that  which  the  Psalmist  here  calls 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  even  the  place  where  the  ark  then 
w^as,  and  where  the  Lord  had  therefore  promised  to  be, 
in  a  special  manner.  Thither  all  tlie  men  in  Israel  were 
bound  to  go,  at  least  three  times  every  year,  though 
many  of  them  lived  about  a  hundred  miles  off.  And 
some  have  thought  that  this  Psalm  was  composed  for 
that  occasion,  that  the  people  might  better  express  the 
joy  and  pleasure  they  had  in  that  holy  journey,  saying 
or  singing  to  one  another  as  they  went,  /  icas  (jlad,  or 
rejoiced,  when  they  said  unto  me,  We  will,  or  Let  us  go 
into  the  house  of  the  Lard.  Our  feet  shall  stand  in  thy 
gates,  O  Jerusalem.  Jerusalem  is  built  as  a  city  that  is  at 
unity  in  itself  for  thither  the  tribes  go  np,  even  the  tribes  of 
the  J^ord,  to  testify  unto  Israel,  to  give  thanks  to  the 
name  if  the  Lord,  Sec. 

Bui  it  might  serve  as  well  for  those  who,  living  near 
it,  went  every  day  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  to  perform 
their  devotions  to  him,  and  to  receive  his  blessino- ;  as 
all  that  were  truly  pious  did.  They  took  all  opportuni- 
ties they  could  get,  of  going  thither  at  the  hours  of  pray- 
er, and  were  glad  when  any  put  them  in  mind  of  it,  and 
called  upon  them  to  go,  saying.  Let  us  go  into  the  house 
of  the  Lord.     And  so  doubtless  are  all  such  at  this  day. 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  249 

All  that  truly  love  and  fear  and  honor  God,  are  as  glad 
to  go  into  his  house  now,  as  they  were  then. 

It  is  true,  we  have  no  such  outward  signs  of  his  special 
presence  in  our  churches,  as  they  had  of  old  in  the 
tabernacle  and  temple  :  but  howsoever,  we  cannot  doubt 
but  that  he  is  as  specially  present  with  us  in  such  places, 
as  he  was  with  them.  For  we  have  his  own  word  for 
it ;  saying,  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  themy  Matt,  xviii.  20. 
Whereby  we  are  fully  assured,  thai  he  doth  not  now  pre- 
sentiate  himself  only  in  one  place,  as  he  did  under  the 
law,  but  that  wheresoever  his  faithful  people  meet  to- 
gether in  his  name,  to  serve  and  worship  him,  he  is 
there  with  them,  to  assist  them  in  what  they  do,  and  to 
bless  and  sanctify  it  to  them.  And  therefore  every  such 
place  dedicated  to  his  service,  may  as  properly  be  called 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  as  the  temple  was.  And  every 
pious  and  devout  soul  delights  as  much  in  going  thither, 
as  David  did  ;  and  can  as  truly  say,  I  uas  glad  when  they 
said  unto  me,  Let  as  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

This,  therefore,  is  that  which  1  shall  now  demonstrate 
to  you  ;  and  for  that  purpose  shall  consider,  first,  the  per- 
sons who  are  always  glad  to  go  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  then,  the  reasons  why  they  are  so. 

First,  As  to  the  persons  ;  we  must  not  think  that  all 
sorts  of  people  delight  in  going  to  church,  the  house  of 
God.  For  v.^e  see  the  contrary  by  daily  experience  : 
even  that  many,  yea,  most  of  these  too  who  profess  the 
faith  of  Christ,  choose  rather  to  go  anywhere  else  than 
thither.  Some  had  rather  go  to  an  ale-house,  or  tavern, 
or  play-house,  where  they  may  please  their  flesh  or  their 
fancy.  Others  are  for  a  shop,  a  warehouse,  or  the  ex- 
change, where  they  may  buy,  or  sell,  and  get  gain  ;  like 


250  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

those  in  the  prophet,  who  said,  When  will  the  new  moon 
be  gone,  that  we  may  sell  corn  ?  and  the  sabbath  that  ice 
may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the  ephah  small,  and  the  shekel 
great,  falsifying  the  balances  by  deceit  ?  Amos  viii.  5  : 
that  is,  in  plain  terms,  they  had  rather  be  cheating  their 
neighbors,  than  serving  God.  Nay,  there  are  many,  too 
many,  who  choose  to  sit  still  at  home,  and  do  nothing, 
rather  than  go  to  church  and  do  the  work  that  is  there 
required  of  them.  Such  as  these  are  not  glad,  but  sorry 
and  troubled,  when  any  say  unto  them.  Let  us  go  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord  ;  and  will  look  upon  them  as  their  ene- 
mies, for  offering  to  make  such  an  impertinent  and 
troublesome  motion  to  them. 

And  it  is  no  vronder.  For  such  people  know  not  what 
to  do  at  church,  nor  can  take  any  pleasure  in  what  is 
there  done :  they  care  not  for  praying  or  praising  God  ; 
neither  doth  "  the  word  preached  any  way  profit  them, 
not  being  mixed  with  faith  in  them  that  hear  it,"  Heb.  iv. 
2.  The  church  is  no  more  to  them  than  an  ordinary 
house  ;  and  the  whole  service  that  is  there  performed 
seems  to  them  an  insipid  business,  which  they  can  no 
way  relish  or  delight  in.  And  the  reason  is,  because 
their  minds  being  taken  up  with  the  affairs  of  this  life, 
they  are  altogether  incapable  of  all  things  belonging  to 
their  everlasting  peace ;  for,  as  the  apostle  observes, 
"  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
cf  God  ;  for  they  are  foolishness  to  him ;  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned,"  1  Cor. 
ii.  14.  Hence  it  is  that  such  men,  when  they  are  at 
church,  they  are  restless  and  uneasy  all  the  while,  and 
long  to  be  out  again,  that  they  may  follow  the  business, 
or  enjoy  the  pleasures,  their  hearts  are  set  on  :  as  for 
what  is  done  there,  they  know  not  what  to  make  of  it  ; 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  251 

and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  care  not  how  sel- 
dom they  come  thither  ;  and  if  they  ever  do,  it  is  not  a 
pleasure,  but  a  grief  and  a  trouble  to  them  ;  which  not- 
withstanding they  are  forced  sometimes  to  bear  with,  to 
keep  up  their  credit  and  reputation  in  the  world  ;  lest 
their  neighbors  should  think  them  to  be  what  they  are, 
mere  natural  and  carnal  men,  that  have  no  sense  at  all 
of  religion,  but  live  as  without  God  in  the  world. 

But  although   these  be   not,  there  are  other  persons 
that  are  glad,  as  David  was,  to  go  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord.     But  they  are  such  as  David  was,  of  whom  it  is 
said,  that  he  was  a  man  after  God's  own  heart ,  1  Sam. 
xiii.  14  ;  that  is,  he  was  a  truly  good   and  virtuous  man, 
one  that  loved  God  with  all   his  heart,  and   lived  con- 
stantly in  his  true  faith  and  fear,  making  it  his  chief  care 
and  business  to  obey,  and  serve,  and  please,  and  honor 
him.     His  heart  was  wholly  inclined  to  God,  and  set  to 
obey  his  commandments,  and  to  glorify  his  holy  name, 
and  so  was  such  a  one  as  God  would  have  him  to  be,  a 
man  after  his  own  heart :  who  therefore  took  great  de- 
light in  everything  that  tended  to  the  glory  of  God  :  par- 
ticularly, what  vast  preparations  did  he  make  for  the 
building  and  adorning  the  house  of  God,  where  he  might 
be   served  and  worshipped  :  and  all  because  he  had  set 
his  affection  upon  it,  as  he  himself  said,  1  Chron.  xxix. 
3.    What  a  mighty  love  and  zeal  had  he  for  it  !    "  Lord," 
said  he,  "  I  have  loved  the  habitation  of  thy  house,  and 
the  place  where   thy  honor  dwellcth,"   Psal.   xxvi.  8. 
"  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up,"  Psal.  Ixix. 
9.     How  earnestly  did  he  desire  to  go  thither  !  Psal. 
xli'.  1,  2 ;  Ixxxiv.  1,  2.     How  was  he  grieved  when  any- 
thing hindered  him  from  going  to  the  house  of  God  !  en- 
vying the  very  sparrows  and  swallows  that  could  get  thi- 


252  THE    ADVANTAGES    OP 

ther,  when  he  could  not,  Psal.  Ixxxiv.  3.  How  much  did 
he  prefer  the  lime  he  spent  there  before  all  the  rest  of  his 
life  !  and  the  lowest  place  in  the  house  of  God,  before 
the  highest  in  all  the  earth  besides !  "  A  day  in  thy 
courts,"  saith  he,  "  is  better  than  a  thousand.  I  had  ra- 
ther be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  my  God,  than  to 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness,"  ver.  10.  And  there- 
fore he  might  well  say, "  1  was  glad  when  they  said  unto 
me.  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

And  so  may  all  good  men  as  well  as  he  ;  for  they  are 
all  of  the  same  temper,  all  actuated  by  the  same  spirit,  as 
he  was.  And  therefore  cannot  but  delight  as  much  in 
going  to  the  house  of  God  as  he  did  ;  and  that  upon  sev- 
eral accounts.  First,  because  of  the  great  comfort  they 
find  in  doing  their  duty  to  God,  in  worshipping  and  serv- 
ing him  that  made  them,  and  so  answering  his  end  in  the 
making  of  them :  for  being  conscious  to  themselves  of 
the  duty  they  owe  to  God,  they  can  never  be  at  rest  in 
their  own  minds,  without  paying  it,  as  far  as  they  can, 
to  him.  Bat  when  they  are  doing  that,  their  consciences 
are  quiet,  and  their  minds  satisfied,  and  pleased  with  the 
thoughts  of  their  doing  what  God  would  have  them,  and 
that  he  is  therefore  well  pleased  with  them.  And  what- 
soever some  may  think,  this  is  certainly  the  greatest 
comfort  that  any  man  can  have  on  this  side  heaven ;  in 
comparison  of  which,  all  the  seeming  pleasures  of  this 
world  are  nothing  but  fancy  and  delusion.  ''  Our  rejoic- 
ing," saith  the  apostle,  '^  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our 
conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  we  have 
had  our  conversation  in  the  world,"  2  Cor.  i.  12.  This 
is  the  rejoicing  of  every  good  man,  when  he  goes  into 
the  house  of  God  ;  that  his  conscience  bears  witness 
with  him,  that  he  is  going  about  the  works  of  God,  the 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  353 

works  that  he  was  made  for,  even  to  serve  and  gloriiy 
his  Maker  :  hence  it  is,  that  they  whom  God  hath  some- 
times stirred  up  to  go  to  church,  if  they  afterwards  leave 
it  off  again,  or  neglect  it  upon  any  slight  occasion,  their 
consciences  usually  fly  in  their  faces,  and  torment  them 
for  it :  whereas  they  who,  like  Anna  the  prophetess, 
never  depart  from  the  house  of  God,  but  serve  him  there 
with  fastings  and  prayer  day  and  night,  Luke  ii.  37,  that 
is,  never,  or  very  rarely,  omit  either  morning  or  evening 
sacrifice,  their  consciences  have  nothing  to  say  against 
them  for  that,  but  bear  witness  for  them  that  they  do 
their  duty,  and  please  God,  and  so  always  live  under  his 
favor  and  protection  ;  and  how  great  a  pleasure  that  is, 
none  can  tell  but  they  who  feel  it :  but  they  find  and 
feel  it  to  be  the  greatest  pleasure  of  their  lives,  the  only 
true  joy  and  comfort  of  their  hearts,  and  therefore  must 
needs  rejoice  and  be  glad  at  all  opportunities  they  can 
get  of  going  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

And  so  they  are  too,  because  of  the  good  company 
they  meet  with  there  :  for  there  they  do  not  only  meet 
with  their  fellow  Christians,  ready  to  join  with  them  in 
the  work  they  go  about,  but  there  they  meet  also  with 
the  best  friend  they  have  in  the  world,  with  Almighty 
God  himself ;  not  as  he  is  their  Creator  only,  but  as  he 
is  their  Saviour  also  and  Redeemer.  For  as  such,  he 
said,  ''  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them,"  Matt,  xviii.  20. 
But  whensoever  we  go  to  perform  our  devotions  in  the 
house  of  God,  we  always  do  it  in  his  name.  And  there- 
fore whatsoever  company  we  may  chance  to  meet  with 
there,  we  are  sure  of  his.  He  is  certainly  among  them, 
in  the  midst  of  them  ;  for  we  have  his  own  word  for  it, 
which  is  infinitely  more  than  as  if  we  saw  him  there  with 
12 


254  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

our  eyes,  or  heard  him  speaking  to  us,  as  Moses  some- 
times did  in  the  tabernacle ;  for  our  eyes  and  our  ears 
might  deceive  us,  but  God  cannot ;  "  he  cannot  lie,"  Tit. 
i.  2.  And  therefore  he  having  said  that  he  is  in  the 
midst  of  us,  when  we  meet  together  in  his  name,  he 
cannot  but  be  there.  And  we  may  and  ought  to  be  as 
confident  of  it,  as  we  are  or  can  be  of  anything  in  the 
world  besides  ;  so  as  never  to  doubt,  but  that  as  it  is 
his  house  where  we  meet,  so  we  always  meet  with 
him  there. 

But  may  we  meet  with  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Christ, 
whensoever  we  go  into  the  house  of  God  ?    Is  he  always 
there  in  the   midst  of  us  ?     Who  then  would  not  go 
thither  as  oft  as  he  can  ?  Men  generally  delight  in  nothing 
so  much  as  in  the  company  of  one  they  love.     But  all 
good  men,  all  true  Christians, love  Christ  Jesus  above  all 
the  things  and  persons  upon  earth.     And  therefore  can- 
not but  long  to  be  where  he  is,  and  enjoy  his  company, 
"  whom  having  not  seen,  they  love  ;  in  whom  though 
now  they  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  they  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,"  1  Pet.  i.  8,  though 
they  see  him   not  with  their  bodily  eyes,  yet  by  faith, 
which  is  the  "  evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  Heb.  xi.  1, 
they  are  fully  assured  that  he  is  there,  and  therefore  can- 
not but  delight  and  rejoice  in  being  there,  more  than  in 
any  other  place  or  company  upon  earth  besides.     And 
they  that  do  not,  have  too  much  cause  to  suspect  that 
they  have  not  that  love  and  value  for  their  Saviour  which 
a  Christian  ought  to  have,  and  without  which  no  man 
can  truly  be  called  a  Christian  :  if  they  had,  they  could 
never  think  much  of  spending  an  hour  or  two  in  a  day  in 
his  presence,  but  would  look  upon  the  time  they  are 
with  him,  as  the  best  spent  of  any  part  of  the  day  ; 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  255 

would  joyfully  embrace  all  opportunities  of  meeting  with 
him,  and  would  be  glad  when  any  put  them  in  mind  of 
it,  saying,  "  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

Especially  considering,  in  the  next  place,  that  he  is  in 
the  midst  of  them,  not  only  as  a  spectator,  auditor,  and 
observer  of  what  they  do,  and  speak,  and  think  together  ; 
but  he  is  there  as  their  Saviour  and  Redeemer,  to 
assist  them  in  what  they  do ;  to  sanctify  it  to  them, 
and  to  bestow  its  manifold  favors  and  blessings  upon 
them,  according  to  their  several  necessities  and  occasions. 
Hear  what  he  himself  saith,  "  In  all  places  where  I  re- 
cord my  name,  I  will  come  unto  thee,  and  I  will  bless 
thee,"  Exod.  xx.  24.  But  wheresoeA^er  we  meet  to- 
gether in  his  name,  there  his  name  is  recorded  or  remem- 
bered ;  and  therefore  he  doth  not  only  come  thither,  but 
he  comes  on  purpose  to  bless  us.  But  what  blessings 
doth  he  bestow  on  those  who  meet  together  in  his  name  ? 
In  general,  all  sorts  of  blessings  which  they  are  capable 
of  and  want :  they  were  all  purchased  by  him,  with  the 
price  of  his  blood  ;  and  therefore  are  wholly  at  his  dis- 
posal. And  he  usually  distributes  them  in  his  own 
house,  to  those  who  meet  there  in  his  name,  and  so  come 
thither  for  them  ;  for  when  they  are  there,  he,  accord- 
ing to  his  word,  comes  to  them,  and  blesseth  them ; 
he  blesseth  them  with  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  ;  he  gives  them  a  true  sight  of  their  sins,  with 
an  hearty  sorrow  and  repentance  for  them  ;  he  fills  their 
souls  with  a  sense  of  God's  mercy  in  the  pardon  and  for- 
giveness of  them ;  he  opens  their  ej^es,  and  turns  them 
from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God  ;  he  enlightens  their  minds,  that  they  may  see  the 
wonderful  things  which  are  written  in  the  Law  and  Gos- 
pel ;  he  directs  them  how  to  work  out  their  salvation 


256  THE   ADVANTAGES   OF 

with  fear  and  trembling,  and  to  make  their  calling  and 
election  sure  ;  he  grants  whatsoever  they  ask  in  his 
name,  so  far  as  he  sees  it  to  be  good  for  them  ;  he  per- 
fumes their  hymns  and  praises  with  the  incense  of  his 
own  merits,  that  God  may  smell  a  sweet  savor  from 
them  :  he  strengtheneth  and  refresheth  their  souls  with 
his  own  body  and  blood,  "  that  they  may  run  with  pa- 
tience the  race  that  is  set  before  them ;"  he  poureth 
down  such  a  measure  of  his  grace  and  Spirit  upon  them, 
whereby  they  are  enabled  to  walk  in  holiness  and  righte- 
ousness before  him  all  their  days,  and  so  makes  them 
"  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light." 

These  are  some  of  those  many  and  great  blessings, 
which  God  our  Saviour  usually  distributes  in  his  own 
house,  while  his  people  are  there  praying,  and  praising 
God,  hearing  his  Word,  and  receiving  the  Sacrament  of 
his  last  supper ;  which  are  therefore  called  the  means  of 
grace,  because  they  are  the  ordinary  means  that  Christ 
hath  appointed,  wherein  to  give  us  his  grace  and  blessing, 
which  all  wise  and  good  men  desire  above  all  things  else, 
and  therefore  cannot  but  join  with  David  in  saying,  "  I 
was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me.  Let  us  go  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord." 

But  hath  he  no  temporal  blessings  to  bestow  as  well 
as  spiritual  ?  Yes,  surely,  they  also  are  all  at  his  dis- 
posal, and  he  gives  them  to  his  servants,  so  far  as  they 
are  blessings  ;  that  is,  so  far  as  they  are  good  and  neces- 
sary for  them  ;  for  otlierwise  they  are  not  blessings,  but 
curses.  But  he  gives  them  ordinarily  with  the  other,  or 
rather  upon  their  seeking  the  other  before  them,  and 
coming  unto  him  for  them,  according  to  his  word  and 
promise,  saying,  Seek  ye  frst  the  kingdom  of  Godj  and 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  257 

his  righteousness^  and  all  these  things,  that  is, ''all  things 
that  are  needful  for  you,  shall  be  added  to  you,  Matt.  xvi. 
33.  Whereby  his  faithful  servants  have  as  great  a  secu- 
rity as  can  be  given  them,  that  they  shall  never  want  any- 
thing that  is  good  for  them  ;  for  they  have  the  infallible 
word  of  God  himself  for  it,  from  whom  co7nes  every  good 
and  perfect  gift,  and  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither 
shadow  of  turning,  James  i.  17.  And  therefore  it  is  im- 
possible that  they  who  seek  and  serve  him  before  all 
things,  should  want  anything  that  is  really  good  for  them, 
so  far  as  it  is  so :  as  impossible  as  it  is  for  God  to  lie. 

So  that  all  who  sincerely  devote  themselves  to  his 
service,  need  never  fear  losing  anything  by  leaving  their 
shops  or  houses,  for  a  while,  to  go  to  church,  the  house 
of  God.  But  they  should  rather  be  confident,  and  rest 
fully  satisfied  in  their  minds,  that  as  they  go  thither  to 
wait  upon  him,  and  to  do  the  work  that  he  hath  set  them ; 
so  he,  according  to  his  word,  will  come  unto  them,  and 
will  bless  them  in  their  going  out,  and  in  their  coming  in  : 
he  will  bless  them  in  their  basket  and  in  their  store :  he 
will  bless  them  in  their  callings,  that  they  may  be  sure  to 
get  what  is  needful  for  them ;  and  he  will  bless  what 
they  have  so  gotten,  both  to  themselves  and  fami- 
lies. This  they  may  truly  promise  themselves,  for  God 
himself  hath  promised  it.  And  therefore  they  may  well 
rejoice  and  be  glad  at  all  opportunities  they  can  get  of 
going  into  the  House  of  the  Lord. 

This  will  appear  further,  if  we  consider  also  the  great 
pleasure  that  good  men  take  in  what  is  done  while  they 
are  in  the  house  of  God  ;  howsoever  irksome  and  tedious 
it  may  seem  to  other  people,  they  who  truly  love  and 
fear  God  above  all  things,  find  more  true  joy  and  com- 
fort in  his  house,  th^n  they  can  do  anywhere  else  ;  they 


25S  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

are  in  their  proper  elements,  about  the  business  they  are 
most  inclined  to,  and  therefore  must  needs  be  most  de-  - 
lighted  in,  as  being  suitable  to  their  renewed  nature,  and 
agreeable  to  their  spiritual  temper  and  disposition.  So 
that  the  whole  work  of  the  place  in  itself  affords  them 
great  joy  and  pleasure,  which  is  very  much  augmented 
also  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  co-operating  with  them 
in  it ;  whereby  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  rightly  dis- 
posed for  it,  are  usually  filled  with  all  the  joy  and  com- 
fort which  as  yet  they  are  capable  of;  according  to  the 
promise  that  God  himself  hath  made  to  that  purpose, 
where,  speaking  of  those  who  faithfully  serve  him,  and 
love  his  name,  he  saith.  Them  ivill  I  bring  to  my  holy 
mountain^  and  make  them  joyful  in  my  house  of  prayer^  Isa. 
Ivi.  7.  In  my  house  of  prayer  ;  that  is,  the  place  where 
he  usually  cheereth  and  refresheth  his  people's  spirits, 
more  than  in  any  other  place  upon  earth :  as  I  do  not 
doubt  but  many  here  present  have  often  found  by  their 
own  experience,  who  coming  sometimes  dull,  and  heavy, 
and  disconsolate,  into  the  house  of  God,  have  there  had 
such  discoveries  of  his  greatness  and  glory,  and  such 
intimations  of  his  love  and  mercy  to  them,  whereby 
their  hearts  have  been  raised  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
joy  and  cheerfulness,  such  as  none  could  give  them,  but 
he  that  promised  to  make  them  joyful  in  his  house  of 
prayer ;  and  who  never  fails  to  perform  his  promise  to 
them  who  come  thither  duly  prepared,  and  keep  their 
minds  intent  upon  him,  and  upon  the  duties  which  are 
there  performed  to  him,  according  to  the  orders  and  direc- 
tions of  our  Church. 

I  say,  according,  to  the  orders  and  directions  of  our 
Church ;  for  I  speak  not  of  what  is  done  in  those  private 
assemblies,  where  the  people  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 


PUBLIC   WORSHIP.  259 

hearken  to  what  is  done  by  another  ;  and  besides  a  ser- 
mon, have  nothing  but  an  extempore  prayer,  which  they 
know  not  what  it  will  be  until  they  hear  it,  and  so  cannot 
heartily  join  in  it :  but  I  speak  only  of  the  offices  and 
duties  which  are  constantly  performed  in  the  house  of 
God,  according  to  the  appointment  of  our  Church.  All 
which,  by  God's  blessing  upon  them,  and  by  his  grace 
working  together  with  them,  both  jointly  and  severally 
conduce  very  much  towards  the  making  his  people  joy- 
ful, and  therefore  glad  to  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

Which  that  I  may  demonstrate  to  you,  I  shall  instance 
more  particularly  in  some  of  them,  and  show  how  they 
do  not  only  edify,  but  recreate  and  cheer  the  spirits  of  all 
that  are  truly  pious  and  devout,  all  the  while  that  they 
are  duly  exercised  in  them  :  for  which  purpose  I  may 
first  observe,  that  they  having  at  their  first  entrance  into 
his  house  confessed  their  sins  to  God,  and  being  thereby 
possessed  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  insupportable  and  eter- 
nal torments  which  they  have  deserved  by  them,  the  min- 
ister, in  the  name  of  God,  and  by  his  authority,  solemnly 
declares,  that  he  pardoneth  and  absoheih  all  them  that  truly 
repent^  and  unfeignedly  believe  his  holy  Gospel.  Which  to 
them  who  are  sensible  of,  and  truly  penitent  for,  their  sins, 
as  all  good  people  are,  is  certainly  the  greatest  comfort  in 
the  world  :  in  that  they  are  hereby  assured,  that  notwith- 
standing their  manifold  provocations  of  him.  Almighty 
God,  upon  their  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ,  is  now  re- 
conciled to  them,  and  receives  them  into  his  grace  and 
favor,  as  much  as  if  they  had  never  offended  him.  They 
who  are  not  comforted  and  rejoiced  at  this,  have  too  much 
cause  to  suspect  that  they  do  not  feel  the  weight  of  their 
sins,  nor  regard  the  love  of  God  ;  for  if  they  did,  they 
would  receive  his  absolution  with  the  highest  expressions 


260  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

of  joy  and  thankfulness  ;  and  -svoiild  not  only  be  glad  to 
go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  but  would  be  sure  always 
to  go  soon  enough  to  receive  it. 

His  faithful  people  now  looking  upon  themselves  as 
absolved  from  their  sins,  and  restored  to  the  favor  of  God? 
according  to  the  promise  he  hath  made  in  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  they  immediately  address  themselves  to  him, 
as  their  gracious  and  most  merciful  Father,  saying.  Our 
Father,  which  art  in  heaven.  And  so  they  go  on  in  the 
several  parts  of  the  service  to  present  their  petitions  to 
him,  coming  boldly,  as  the  apostle  speaks,  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  that  they  may  obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  to 
help  in  time  of  need,  Heb.  iv.  16,  not  doubting  but  that 
he,  being  now  reconciled  to  them  through  Christ,  will  grant 
them  whatsoever  they  ask  in  his  name,  according  to  his 
own  word,  saying.  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in 
my  name,  he  will  give  it  you,  John  xvi.  23.  In  confidence 
of  which  promise  they  accordingly  ask  whatsoever  they 
stand  in  need  of,  either  as  to  this  world  or  the  next ; 
still  keeping  their  eye  and  their  faith  fixed  upon  the 
Almighty  Creator  of  the  world,  as  their  most  loving  Fa- 
ther ;  and  upon  his  Son,  as  their  most  powerful  Advocate 
with  him,  continually  making  intercession  for  them,  that 
their  services  may  be  accepted,  and  their  petitions  grant- 
ed by  him,  so  far  as  he  in  his  infinite  wisdom  knows 
them  to  be  expedient  for  them.  Thus,  all  the  while  they 
are  upon  their  knees,  they  are  conversing  with  Almighty 
God,  and  exercising  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  so  have 
fellowship  both  loith  the  Father  and  the  Son,  1  John  3.  No  w 
what  a  mighty  pleasure  and  comfort  this  is  to  all  the 
true  saints  and  servants  of  God,  I  need  not  tell  them: 
though  nobody  else  doth,  they  know  it,  they  feel  it  to  be. 
the   greatest,  the   only   true  joy  and   comfort   of  their 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  261 

hearts.  For  hereby  they  enjoy  communion  with  God, 
the  chiefest,  the  only  good,  and  rest  fully  satisfied  in 
their  minds,  that  they  shall  want  nothing  that  is  good  for 
them,  nothing  that  can  either  do  them  or  make  them 
good  ;  seeing  they  have  him  who  is  all  good  in  himself, 
and  his  word  for  whatsoever  they  ask  that  is  so  to  them  ; 
whereby  they,  according  to  their  capacities  in  this  mor- 
tal state,  in  some  measure  enjoy  all  the  good  things  that 
God  hath  made,  and  him  too  that  made  them.  Which 
is  so  great  a  happiness,  that  they  who  have  once  tasted 
of  it,  cannot  but  always  desire  it,  and  therefore  must 
needs  be  glad  to  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord  to  par- 
take of  it. 

Besides  that,  they  never  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
but  they  have  some  part  of  his  own  word  solemnly  read, 
if  not  expounded  also  to  them,  and  so  they  always  there 
hear  their  heavenly  Father  speaking  and  making  known 
himself  and  his  holy  will  unto  them,  what  he  would  have 
them  believe  and  do,  that  they  may  continue  in  his  love 
and  favor,  which  all  his  dutiful  and  obedient  children 
prize  and  desire  above  all  things  in  this  world.  "  The 
judgments  of  the  Lord,"  saith  David,  "  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether :  more  to  be  desired  are  they  than 
gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold  ;  sweeter  also  than  honey 
and  the  honey-comb,"  Psal.  xix.  9,  10.  "  The  law  of  thy 
mouth  is  better  unto  me  than  thousands  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver," Psal.  cxix.  72.  "  How  sweet  are  thy  words  unto 
my  lips  !  sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mduth,"  ver.  103. 

And  verily  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  children  of  God 
thus  highly  value  and  delight  in  his  holy  word ;  for  as  it 
is  by  his  word  that  they  are  begotten  or  born,  again  of 
God,  and  so  made  his  children  at  first,  James  i.  18,  so 
the  same  word  is  afterwards  the  proper  nourishment  of 
12* 


262  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

their  souls,  whereby  their  new  and  spiritual  life  is  sus- 
tained and  increased  in  them,  so  as  to  "  grow  in  grace, 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,"  2  Pet.  iii.  IS.  And  therefore,  as  "  new-born 
babes,  they  cannot  but  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word,  that  they  may  grow  thereby,"  1  Pet.  ii.  2.  But 
this  is  communicated  to  them  by  their  heavenly  Father 
most  effectually  in  his  own  house  ;  for  although  they 
may  read  the  word  of  God  over  and  over  again  at  home, 
or  in  any  other  place,  yet  they  find  by  experience,  that 
it  never  comes  with  so  much  power  and  efficacy  upon 
them,  as  when  it  is  administered  to  them  in  his  own 
house,  in  his  name,  by  an  officer  of  his  own  appointment, 
while  his  people  are  met  together  to  serve  and  worship 
him,  and  so  have  his  Holy  Spirit  assisting  and  co-operat- 
ing with  his  word,  that  it  may  work  effectually  in  them 
that  believe,  1  Thess.  ii.  13.  Who  therefore  finding  the 
word  of  God  to  be  quite  another  thing  when  publicly 
read  or  explained  in  God's  house,  than  it  is  at  their  own, 
they  cannot  but  be  exceedingly  glad  of  all  opportunities 
of  going  thither  to  hear  it. 

Especially  seeing,  when  they  come  there,  they  do  not 
only  pray  and  hear  God's  holy  word,  but  they  join  to- 
gether also  in  praising  and  magnifying  his  holy  name ; 
not  only  a  little  by  the  by,  as  occasion  serves  in  the 
prayers  and  lessons,  but  in  a  set  and  solemn  manner  :  so 
that  this  makes  a  great,  if  not  the  greatest,  part  of  our 
daily  service  ;  which  we  have  no  sooner  began,  but  we 
presently  call  upon  one  another,  saying,  in  the  words  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  "  O  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord, 
let  us  heartily  rejoice  in  the  strength  of  our  salvation  :  let 
us  come  into  his  presence  with  thanksgiving,  and  show 
ourselves  glad  in  him  with  psalms."     And  then  we  ac- 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  263 

cordingly  go  on  to  praise  him  with  psalms,  and  hymns, 
and  spiritual  songs  :  we  commonly  repeat  several  psalms 
together,  and,  after  every  one  of  them,  we  constantly 
give  glory  to  God,  saying,  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father," 
&c.  After  the  first  Lesson  we  repeat  the  Te  Deum ; 
"  We  praise  thee,  O  God,  we  acknowledge  thee  to  be 
the  Lord  :"  or  else  the  Benedicite ;  "  O  all  ye  works  of 
the  Lord,  bless  ye  the  Lord ;  praise  him,  and  magnify 
him  for  ever."  After  the  second  Lesson,  we  say  the 
Benedictus  ;  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  for  he 
hath  visited  and  redeemed  his  people  :"  or  else  the  hun- 
dredth psalm,  called  the  Jubilate ;  "  O  be  joyful  in  the 
Lord,  all  ye  lands  ;  serve  the  Lord  with  gladness,  and 
come  before  his  presence  with  a  song."  And  so,  in  the 
afternoon,  we  sing  the  Magnificat,  or  the  ninety-eighth 
psalm,  after  the  first  Lesson  ;  and  after  the  second,  the 
Nunc  dimittis,  or  the  sixty-seventh  psalm:  besides  all 
which,  we  constantly  repeat  the  Creed,  or  confession  of 
our  faith ;  wherein  we  acknowledge  the  glory  of  the 
eternal  Trinity,  and  recount  the  wonderful  things  which 
the  Son  of  God  hath  done  for  us ;  how  "  he  was  con- 
ceived by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary ; 
suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead,  and 
buried ;  descended  into  hell,  rose  again  the  third  day, 
ascended  up  into  heaven,  and  there  sitteth  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  in  the  glory  of  the  Father."  By  all  which 
we  set  forth  the  praises  of  the  most  high  God,  in  the  best 
manner  we  can  do  it  upon  earth. 

Thus  whensoever  we  come  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  we  join  together  in  praising  him,  our  Almighty 
Creator,  and  most  merciful  Redeemer,  and  so  do  the 
great  work  for  which  he  created  and  redeemed  us; 
which  therefore  must  needs  be  very  pleasant  and  delight- 


264  THE    ADVANTAGES    OF 

ful  to  those  who  beheve  themselves  to  be    not  only 
created,  but  likewise  redeemed  by  him  for  that  end  and 
purpose.     As  David  found  by  experience,  when  he  said. 
My  soul  shall  be  satisfied  even  as  it  were  with  marrow  and 
fatnesSy  when  my  mouth  praiseth   thee  with  joyful   lipSy 
Psal.  Ixiii.  6.     Where   we  may  likewise  observe,  that 
joyfulness   doth  so  necessarily  accompany  our  praising 
God,  that  we  can  never  do  it  aright  without  it ;  for  we 
must  always  praise  him  with  joyful  lips,  we  must  sing 
merrily  to  God  our  strength,  and  make  a  cheerful  noise  to 
the  God  of  Jacob ,  Psal.  Ixxxi.  1,  and  rejoice  in  giving 
praise  for   the   operations   of  his   hands,  Psal.   xcii.  4. 
Which  we  cannot  choose  but  do,  if  we  duly  consider 
those  infinite  perfections  we  acknowledge  in  him,  and  the 
glorious  works  we  praise  him  for  ;  for  the  very  agnizing 
and  celebrating  of  them,  fills  our  souls  with  unspeakable 
joy  and  pleasure,  the  highest  that  we  are  capable  of. 
This  is  that  which  makes  heaven  itself  to  be  so  pleasant 
a  place  to  those  who    dwell  there,  because    they  are 
always  praising  God.     There  the  cherubim  and  seraphin 
continually  do  cry,  Ilohj,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  saba- 
oth  ;  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  thy  glory. 
There  the  glorious  company  of  the  apostles  praise  him. 
There  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets  praise  him. 
There  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  praise  Mm.     There  all 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  praise  him  continu- 
ally.    And  if  we  shall  ever  be  so  happy  as  to  be  admit- 
ted  into  their  blessed  society,  we  shall  join  with  them 
in  praising  him  that  brought  us  thither  :  this  will  be  our 
work,  and  this  will  be  our  pleasure  for  evermore  :  and  as 
ever  we  desire  to  do  it  there,  we  must  delight  in  doing  it 
here  first ;  otherwise  our  hearts  will  not  be  set  right  for 
it,  and  so  we  shall   not  be  meet  to  be  partakers  of  th^ 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP.  265 

inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light :  but  that  is  the  thing 
which  all  that  are  truly  wise  and  pious,  most  earnestly 
desire  above  all  things  else,  and  therefore  cannot  but 
always  rejoice  and  be  glad  to  go  into  the  house  of  God, 
that  they  may  there  praise  him,  and  so  begin  that  work 
in  time,  which  they  hope  to  continue  to  all  eternity. 

But  that  which  above  all  makes  the  saints  and  servants 
of  the  Most  High  God  so  joyful  in  his  house  of  prayer, 
and  therefore  so  glad  to  go  thither,  is  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  usually  performed  there,  ordained  by 
our  Lord,  the  Almighty  God,  our  Saviour  himself,  on 
purpose  to  put  us  in  mind  of  him,  and  so  to  confirm  our 
faith  in  him,  to  inflame  our  love  to  him,  to  excite  our 
desires  and  longing  after  him,  to  fill  our  hearts  with  joy 
and  thankfulness  for  him,  that  our  souls  may  be  strength- 
ened and  refreshed  by  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  as 
our  bodies  are  with  bread  and  wine.  Here  we  receive 
the  pardon  of  all  our  sins,  sealed  to  us  in  the  blood  of 
the  Son  of  God.  Here  we  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the 
blood  of  Christ  by  faith,  so  as  that  he  dwelleth  in  us, 
and  we  in  him  ;  he  is  one  with  us,  and  we  with  him. 

Hereby  we  are  assured  of  God's  love  and  favor  to  us , 
and  that  we  are  very  members  incorporate  in  the  mysti- 
cal body  of  his  Son,  which  is  the  blessed  company  of  all 
faithful  people,  and  also  are  heirs,  through  hope,  of  his 
everlasting  kingdom,  by  the  merits  of  the  most  precious 
death  and  passion  of  his  dear  Son.  Where  shall  we  find 
matter  of  so  great  joy  and  comfort  on  this  side  heaven  ? 
Nowhere  certainly  but  in  God's  own  house,  where  he  is 
pleased  to  give  it  us  at  his  holy  table,  when  the  Sacra- 
ment of  his  most  blessed  body  and  blood  is  there  admin- 
istered, as  it  is  every  Lord's  day  in  this,  and  some  other, 
and  ought  to  be  so  in  all  the  houses  of  God  in  the  land  : 


266  THE   ADVANTAGES   OF 

that  his  people  may  never  want  that  spiritual  food  which 
he  hath  provided  for  them,  wherewith  to  nourish  and 
preserve  both  their  souls  and  bodies  to  everlasting  life, 
which  his  dutiful  and  obedient  children,  always  hunger- 
ing and  thirsting  after,  cannot  but  be  overjoyed  at  all 
occasions  of  having  it  administered  unto  them.  And 
therefore  as  they  always  rejoice  and  are  glad  when  any 
say  unto  them,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  so 
especially  when  they  say,  Let  us  go  unto  the  table  of 
the  Lord  ;  and  are  always  ready  to  say  with  David, 
Psal.  Ixv.  4. 

These  things  I  thought  good  to  put  you  in  mind  of  at 
this  time,  not  only  to  show  what  cause  we  have  to  thank 
God  that  his  house  is  refitted,  and  that  we  are  got  again 
into  it ;  but  likewise  that  you  may  see  that  it  is  your  in- 
terest, as  well  as  duty,  to  frequent  it  as  much  as  possibly 
you  can.  I  am  very  sensible,  that  all  that  I  have  now 
said,  and  all  that  can  be  said  upon  this  subject,  will  have 
but  little  effect  upon  the  greater  part  of  them  which 
hear  it ;  for  we  live  in  an  age  that  is  only  for  hearing,  not 
for  doing  anything  they  hear  ;  much  less,  that  which  ye 
now  have  heard ;  which,  as  I  observed  before,  none  can 
receive  in  the  love  of  it,  but  only  such  as  are  renewed  in 
the  spirit  of  their  minds,  and  so  are  wholly  devoted  to 
the  services  of  God.  All  others  will  think  what  you 
have  now  heard  to  be  a  mere  paradox.  They  can  never 
get  it  into  their  heads  that  there  is  any  profit  or  pleasure 
to  be  had  at  church,  because  they  could  never  find  it 
there  :  but  the  reason  is,  not  because  it  is  not  to  be  had, 
but  because  their  minds  being  set  upon  other  things,  they 
are  not  qualified  or  disposed  for  those  pure  and  spiritual 
joys  which  God  vouchsafeth  to  his  people  in  his  own 
house,  and  to  none  but  them.     All  others  are  altogether 


PUBLIC   WORSHIP.  267 

unacquainted  with  them ;  which  being  the  many,  or  rather 
the  most,  hence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  daily  prayers  are 
so  much  slighted  and  neglected  among  us,  far  more,  to 
our  shame  be  it  spoken,  than  among  any  other  sort  of 
people  in  the  world.  The  Papists  will  rise  up  in  judg- 
ment with  this  generation,  for  they  every  day  observe 
their  canonical  hours  for  praying  ;  at  least,  for  thatVhich 
they  believe  to  be  so.  The  Jews  will  rise  up  in  judg- 
ment with  this  generation,  for  they  never  omitted  to  offer 
their  daily  sacrifices,  so  long  as  they  had  a  house  of 
God  wherein  to  offer  them.  The  Turks  shall  rise  up  in 
judgment  with  this  generation  ;  for  when  their  priests 
call  the  people  to  prayer,  as  they  do  several  times  every 
day,  they  immediately  run  to  their  mosques  or  temples  ; 
and  if  any  offer  to  stay  at  home,  he  is  shunned  by  all,  as 
a  wicked,  atheistical  wretch.  The  Heathens  will  rise  up 
in  judgment  with  this  generation,  for  if  they  had  such 
opportunities  as  we  have,  of  praying  and  praising  their 
Almighty  Creator  every  day,  I  doubt  not  but  they  would 
do  it  far  more  constantly,  than  it  is  done  by  most  of  us. 
What  then  can  we  expect  but  that  some  severe  judgment 
or  other  will,  ere  long,  be  inflicted  on  us  ?  when  peo- 
ple generally  live  as  without  God  in  the  world,  not- 
withstanding the  clear  discoveries  that  he  hath  made  o^ 
himself  unto  them,  and  notwithstanding  the  means  of 
grace  which  are  so  constantly  administered  to  him,  but 
they  will  not  use  them. 

But  let  others  continue,  if  they  please,  in  this  wicked 
course,  and  take  what  follows.  You  have  now  heard 
what  a  joyful  and  pleasant  thing  it  is  to  go  into  the 
house  of  God,  to  serve  and  worship  him  there  ;  be  now 
advised  to  do  it,  and  to  do  it  as  oft  as  possibly  you  can. 
I  dare  assure  you  ye  will  then  experience  the  truth  of  all 


268    THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 

that  I  have  now  said  of  it,  and  far  more  than  I  anri  able 
to  express.  But  for  that  purpose,  whensoever  ye  go 
into  the  house  of  the  Lord,  you  must  lay  aside  all  other 
business,  and  apply  yourselves  wholly  to  the  duties  of 
that  holy  place  ;  ye  must  keep  your  minds  intent  all  the 
while  upon  him  before  whom  ye  are,  and  upon  the  work 
which  he  hath  there  set  you.  You  must  confess  your 
sins  heartily,  you  must  receive  his  absolution  faithfully, 
you  must  hear  his  word  attentively,  you  must  pray  sin- 
cerely, you  must  praise  him  lustily,  and  with  a  good 
courage  ;  and  when  ye  receive  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  ye  must  do  it  with  that  true  repentance, 
that  strong  faith,  that  heavenly  joy  and  thankfulness  that 
is  due  to  so  great  a  mystery.  Thus  exercising  your 
souls  continually  in  these  holy  and  spiritual  duties,  that 
are  performed  in  God's  lower  houses  upon  earth,  ye  will 
be  every  day  more  and  more  prepared  and  fitted  to  live 
with  him  in  heaven,  there  to  enjoy  and  praise  him  for 
ever. 


SERMON  XI 


THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FASTING. 


1  Cor.  XI.  27. 

But  I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  info  subjection ;  lest  that  by  any 
means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  cast-away. 

From  your  presence  here  at  this  time,  I  cannot  but  in 
charity  infer  three  things  ;  first,  that  you  all  believe  a 
future  state  ;  and  that  as  really  as  you  are  now  in  this, 
it  is  not  long  but  you  will  all  be  in  another  world,  either 
in  a  world  of  happiness,  or  else  in  a  world  of  misery ; 
for  if  you  do  not  believe  this,  it  is  to  no  purpose  for  you 
to  come  hither ;  this  place  and  work  having  a  peculiar 
reference  to  the  other  world,  and  not  to  this  where  we 
now  are.  Secondly,  hence  I  infer  likewise,  that  you  are 
fully  persuaded  that  your  condition  in  the  other  world 
will  be  according  to  your  behavior  in  this  ;  that  if  you 
continue  in  your  sins  here,  you  will  there  be  miserable  ; 
but  if  you  repent  and  turn  to  God,  you  will  be  happy  for 
ever  ;  for  certainly  you  would  not  come  hither  to  learn 
what  to  do  in  order  to  your  future  happiness,  unless  you 
were  fully  persuaded  beforehand,  that  you  must  do  some- 
thins:  in  order  to  it.  Hence,  therefore,  in  the  third 
place,  I  conclude  also,  that  you  all  desire,  when  you 
leave  this,  to  go  to  a  better  world,  even  to  heaven,  the 
only   place   of    real  and    eternal  happiness ;    for    what 


270  THE    USEFULNESS    OF  TASTING. 

need  you  to  come  hither  to  know  how  to  get  to  heaven, 
if  you  do  not  care  whether  you  ever  come  there  or  no  % 

Taking  it  therefore  for  granted,  that  your  minds  are 
possessed  with  a  firm  belief  of  another  world,  with  a  full 
persuasion  that  you  shall  live  there  in  happiness  or 
misery,  according  as  you  live  here  in  holiness  or  sin,  and 
with  hearty  desires  to  carry  yourselves  so  while  you  live, 
that  when  you  die  you  may  go  to  heaven  ;  this,  I  say, 
being  taken  for  granted,  it  cannot  but  be  very  seasonable 
and  suitable  to  your  design  in  coming  hither,  to  explain 
these  words  bf  the  apostle,  which  I  have  now  read  unto 
you  ;  wherein  you  have  the  great  end  which  the  apostle 
did,  and  you  I  suppose  do,  aim  at  in  all  your  actions, 
even  how  to  get  to  heaven  ;  and  then,  secondly,  one  of 
the  means  whereby  he  did,  and  you,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  may,  attain  that  end,  even  by  keeping  the  body 
under,  and  bringing  it  into  subjection  ;  I  keep  under  my 
my  body,  saith  he,  and  bring  it  into  subjection,  lest  that 
by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  unto  others,  I  myself 
should  be  a  cast-away. 

As  for  the  first,  it  is  plain  from  these  words  that  one 
of  the  great  ends  St.  Paul  aimed  at,  the  great  designs  he 
carried  on  in  all  he  did,  was  to  save  himself  as  well  as  those 
that  heard  him.  He  was  conscious  to  himself,  that  the 
efficacy  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments  which  he  adminis- 
tered did  not  depend  upon  his  own  personal  holiness,  but 
upon  his  apostolical  office,  and  the  promise  of  the  Spirit 
annexed  to  it ;  and  therefore  that  it  was  very  possible  for 
him  to  be  an  instrument  in  God's  hand  to  save  others, 
and  yet  he  himself  be  damned  ;  that  he  might  show 
others  the  way  to  heaven,  and  yet  he  himself  not  walk 
in  it.  Hence  he  took  special  care  all  along,  lest  that  by 
any  means  when  he  had  preached  to  others,  and  taught 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  271 

them  how  to  obtain  the  crown  of  glory,  he  himself  should 
lose  it,  by  being  (kdoxi^o;  a  cast-away,  a  reprobate,  one 
not  approved  of  as  fit  to  have  it  set  upon  his  head. 

And  if  St.  Paul  himself  used  so  much  care  and  dili- 
gence, lest,  after  all  the  pains  he  had  taken  for  the  sal- 
vation of  others,  he  himself  should  miss  of  it ;  what  cause 
have  we  to  do  so,  who  are  now  entrusted  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Word  and  Sacraments  ?  Certainly  we 
had  need  to  look  about  us,  lest  after  all  our  preaching 
unto  others,  we  ourselves  should  perish  everlastingly  ; 
especially  considering  that  we  cannot  but  be  all  sensible, 
that  it  is  far  easier  to  preach  the  Gospel,  than  to  practise 
it ;  to  tell  others  what  to  do,  than  to  do  it  ourselves  ;  and 
therefore  whatsoever  pains  we  take  in  the  one,  we  had  need 
to  take  as  much,  if  not  much  more,  to  do  the  other  too : 
for  what  a  sad  thing  will  it  be,  to  see  many  converted  by 
our  ministry  shining  in  heaven's  glory,  and  we  ourselves 
lie  scorching  in  eternal  flame  ?  To  see  them  with  Laza- 
rus in  Abraham's  bosom,  solacing  themselves  in  those 
rivers  of  pleasure  which  are  at  God's  right  hand  for  ever- 
more, and  ourselves  in  the  meanwhile  with  Dives  in  hell 
torments,  without  so  much  as  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  our 
inflamed  tongues  ?  And  yet  St.  Paul  foresaw  this  would 
be  the  consequence  of  his  preaching  the  Gospel  to  others, 
unless  he  himself  lived  up  unto  it ;  and  therefore  we  may 
be  confident  it  will  be  so  unto  us  too  ;  but  I  would  not 
have  you  think  that  this  concerns  us  of  the  clergy  only  ; 
the  same  argument  holds  good  as  to  all  others.  For  if 
so  holy  a  person,  as  we  must  all  acknowledge  St.  Paul 
to  have  been,  after  all  his  preaching  salvation  unto  others, 
was  so  solicitous  about  his  own  ;  what  cause  then  have 
you  to  fear,  lest  after  all  your  reading  and  hearing  the 
word  of  God,  after  all  your  public  and  private  devotions, 


272  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING. 

after  all  your  receiving  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, you  at  last  be  cast-aways  and  so  lose  all  your  pains 
and  labor?  And,  by  consequence,  how  much  doth  it 
concern  you  all  to  take  as  much  care,  if  possible,  as  St. 
Paul  himself  did,  of  your  future  happiness  ?  I  am  sure  all 
that  are  wise  amongst  you  cannot  but  look  upon  this  as 
a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance  that  you  have  or  can 
have  in  this  world ;  and  howsoever  any  of  you  may  think 
otherwise  at  present,  it  is  not  long  but  you  will  all  be  of 
the  same  mind  ;  which  that  you  may  be  before  it  be  too 
late,  I  pray  and  beseech  you  all  seriously  to  consider, 
that  you  have  another  world  to  live  in  as  well  as  this,  an 
eternal  world,  where  you  must  abide  either  in  the  height 
of  happiness,  or  else  in  the  depth  of  misery,  for  evermore  : 
so  that  as  really  as  you  now  live  amongst  men,  you  will 
there  live  either  with  Christ  and  his  holy  angels,  or  else 
with  the  devil  and  his  damned  fiends,  unto  all  eternity. 

Do  but  seriously  consider  this,  and  you  will  need  no 
other  arguments  to  persuade  you  to  follow  the  example 
of  this  great  apostle  in  this  particular,  even  to  make  it 
your  daily,  your  constant,  your  only  care  and  business  in 
this  world,  to  prepare  and  fit  yourselves  for  the  other  ; 
that  when  you  come  to  die  you  may  then  begin  to  live, 
to  live  with  God,  to  live  in  light,  in  love,  in  rest,  in  peace, 
in  joy,  in  heaven  itself;  in  heaven,  I  say,  where  we  shall 
be  freed  from  all  those  griefs  and  troubles,  from  all  those 
cares  and  fears,  that  here  distract  our  minds,  and  make 
us  restless  and  uneasy.  In  heaven,  where  we  shall 
trample  upon  this  lower  world,  and  ride  in  triumph  over 
both  sin  and  Satan,  so  as  never  to  be  tempted  or  disturb- 
ed more  :  in  heaven,  where  our  souls  shall  be  reduced  to 
their  primitive  frame  and  temper,  and  be  made  so  per- 
fectly happy,  as  to  be  perfectly  holy  :  in  heaven,  where 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF   FASTING.  273 

our  thoughts  shall  be  always  pure,  our  minds  serene,  and 
our  hearts  transported  with  love  and  joy  in  the  chiefest 
good :  where  we  shall  always  behold  the  glory,  admire 
the  perfections,  and  enjoy  the  presence  of  the  great  Jeho- 
vah, so  as  always  to  apprehend  him  as  well  pleased  with 
us,  rejoicing  over  us,  and  manifesting  his  infinite  love  and 
goodness  to  us  :  which  is  so  great,  so  exceeding  great  a 
happiness,  that  it  may  justly  strike  us  into  admiration, 
how  it  is  possible  for  such  silly  creatures  as  we  are  to  en- 
joy and  bear  it ;  yet  how  great  soever  it  be,  there  is  never 
a  soul  here  present  but  as  yet  is  capable  of  it,  and  invited 
to  it ;  and  if  you  be  not  failing  to  yourselves,  you  may 
all  ere  long  be  admitted  into  the  actual  possession  of  it. 

But  for  that  end  you  must  still  remember,  that  as 
heaven  is  the  highest  happiness  you  can  attain  to,  so  it 
is  the  hardest  matter  in  the  world  to  attain  unto  it :  I 
speak  not  this  to  discourage  any  of  you,  but  I  would  not 
have  you  fooled  by  the  devil  and  his  emissaries  into  a 
groundless  conceit  that  it  is  easy  to  get  to  heaven  ;  for 
Christ  himself,  by  whom  alone  it  is  possible  for  any  of 
you  to  come  there,  hath  told  you  the  contrary,  assuring 
you  with  his  own  mouth,  that  the  gate  is  strait,  and  the 
way  narrow,  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that 
find  it.  Matt.  vii.    14.     And   you    cannot   but   all   ac- 
knowledge  as  much,  if  you   do    but  consider  what  is 
necessary  in  order  to  it ;  for  what  must  you  do  that  you 
inherit  eternal  life  }  or  rather,  what  must  you  not  do  > 
YoM  must  mortify  every  lust,  for  one  sin  will  keep  you 
out  of  heaven   as  well  as  twenty  ;  you  must  exercise 
every  grace,  and  perform  every  duty  that  is  required  of 
you  both  to  God  and  man  ;  you  must  lualk  in  all  the  cotn- 
mandnients  of    God  blameless,   to   the    utmost  of    your 
knowledge  and  power,  so  as  to  be  sincerely,  entirely,  and 


274  THE   USEFULNESS   OF    FASTING. 

constantly  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation  ;  for  it  is 
the  irrevocable  decree  of  heaven,  that  without  holiness  no 
man  can  see  the  Lord,  Heb.  xii.  14.  And  therefore  if 
ever  you  desire  to  see  the  Lord  in  glory,  you  must  live 
above  the  world  whilst  you  are  in  it,  and  contemn  it 
while  you  use  it  ;  you  must  gather  up  all  your  scattered 
affections  from  all  things  here  below,  and  fix  them  upon 
God,  so  that  all  the  inclinations  of  your  souls  must  meet 
and  rest  in  him  as  their  only  centre,  otherwise  you  will 
not  be  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  with  the 
saints  in  light,  nor  capable  of  those  pure  and  spiritual 
joys,  which  are  there  prepared  for  you. 

But  if  these  things  be  so,  you  may  say  to  me,  as  the 
Apostles  said  to  our  Lord,  Who  then  can  be  saved  1  for 
who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  To  that  I  answer,  It 
is  true,  if  we  look  no  further  than  ourselves,  we  may 
justly  despair  of  ever  knowing  what  heaven  is  ;  but  our 
comfort  is,  that  our  sufficiency  is  of  God,  who  is  always 
ready  to  assist  us  in  the  use  of  those  means  that  are  ap- 
pointed by  himself;  amongst  which  we  are  now,  in  the 
second  place,  to  consider  one  of  the  most  effectual,  even 
that  which  the  apostle  tells  us  he  himself  used,  saying,  / 
keep  under  m\j  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection. 

In  speaking  to  which,  I  shall  not  trouble  you  with  any 
critical  observations  about  the  Greek  words  vTrw/rtd^w  xal 
dovXaycoyw  here  used ;  for  our  English  translation  gives 
you  the  full  sense  and  meaning  of  them,  as  well  as  any 
words  are  able  to  express  it :  I  keep  under  my  body,  and 
bring  it  into  subjection;  as  if  he  should  have  said,  I  being 
still  in  the  body,  and  finding  by  experience  that  that  is 
very  apt  to  resist  and  rebel  against  my  soul,  to  tempt  m  ^ 
to  vice,  and  to  hinder  me  in  the  exercise  of  virtue,  \ 
therefore  take  care  to  keep  it  under,  in  such  a  temper  ar- 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  275 

that  it  may  be  always  subject  unto,  and  ready  to  observe, 
the  dictates  of  my  reason,  and  the  motions  of  God's 
Spirit  within  me,  and  so  be  no  hindrance,  but  rather  a 
furtherance,  to  me  in  my  progress  to  heaven. 

But  for  our  better  understanding  of  this,  we  shall  con- 
sider two  things. 

I.  How  the  apostle  did,  and  w^e  may  keep  our  bodies 
under,  and  bring  them  into  subjection. 

II.  How  much  this  conduceth  to  our  being  so  holy 
here,  that  we  may  be  happy  hereafter,  and  so  not  be  cast- 
aways, as  the  apostle  here  speaks. 

The  first  will  be  soon  dispatched  ;  for  it  is  plain  that 
the  apostle  kept  his  body  under,  and  brought  it  into  sub- 
jection, by  fasting  and  abstinence,  as  the  Fathers  fre- 
quently observe  ;  for  as  for  those  corporal  chastisements 
by  whipping  and  scourging  of  themselves,  so  commonly 
and  ridiculously  used  by  the  papists  in  their  solemn  pro- 
cessions, St.  Paul  never  makes  any  mention  of  them. 
He  saith  indeed,  that  he  was  thrice  beaten  with  rods.,  and 
five  times  received  forty  stripes ,  save  one,  2  Cor.  xi.  24  : 
but  he  received  them  not  from  himself  or  his  confessor, 
as  the  papists  do,  but  from  his  implacable  enemies  the 
Jews.  But  when  he  afterwards  saith,  that  he  was  in 
hunger  and  thirst  often,  in  fastings  often,  ver.  27  :  by  the 
former  the  Fathers  generally  understand  the  hunger  and 
thirst  which  he  was  forced  to  undergo  in  his  travels  and 
imprisonments  ;  by  the  latter,  those  voluntary  fastings 
which  he  undertook  himself,  whereby  to  keep  his  body 
under,  and  to  bring  it  into  subjection,  this  being  indeed  the 
most,  if  not  the  only,  effectual  means  to  do  it ;  forasmuch 
as  indulging  the  appetite,  and  constant  feeding  to  the  full, 
though  without  excess,  swells  the  veins,  and  breeds 
those  petulant  and  noxious  humors  in  the  body,  which 


276  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING. 

make  it  rampant  and  ungovernable  ;  whereas,  on  the 
other  side,  fasting  and  frequent  abstinence  withdraws  the 
fuel  which  foments  those  combustions  and  tumults,  those 
wars  and  rebellions,  which  the  body  raiseth  against  the 
soul,  the  inferior  against  the  superior  powers  ;  and  there- 
fore as  it  was  by  fasting  that  St.  Paul  did  it,  so  it  is  by 
fasting  that  we  must  keep  our  bodies  under,  if  we  eve? 
desire  to  do  it  effectually. 

And  so  I  come  to  the  other  thing  to  be  considered,  even 
how  much  this  keeping  the  body  under,  by  fasting  and 
abstinence,  conduceth  to  our  being  holy  here,  and  by 
consequence  happy  hereafter  ;  which  being  a  thing  so 
seldom  thought  of  in  our  age,  and  yet  of  greater 
importance  than  can  easily  be  imagined,  for  the 
better  explication  of  it  I  shall  lay  down  these  propo- 
sitions. 

First,  therefore,  true  holiness,  we  must  know,  is  seated 
only  in  the  soul,  and  is  indeed  nothing  else,  but  the  right 
disposition  of  the  several  faculties  of  the  soul,  and  their 
acting  conformably  to  the  law  and  nature  of  God  ;  and 
therefore  though  the  soul  can  perform  many  acts  of  holi- 
ness without  the  body,  the  body  can  perform  none  with- 
out the  soul  ;  and  although  to  some  acts,  both  parts  are 
required  to  put  forth  themselves  in  their  several  capaci- 
ties, yet  they  are  no  further  acts  of  holiness,  than  as  they 
proceed  from  the  soul.  Hence  the  soul  may  be  perfectly 
holy,  and  perfectly  happy  too,  without  the  body,  as  in 
the  state  of  separation,  when  the  body  is  capable  c' 
neither. 

2.  Although  the  soul  be  a  distinct  substance  from  the 
body,  and  so  is  capable  of  acting  separately  from  it,  even 
whilst  it  is  in  it ;  yet  so  long  as  it  is  tied  to  the  body,  and 
actually  informs  it,  so  as  to  be  but  one  part  of  that  com- 


THE    USEFULNESS   OF    FASTING.  277 

position,  which  we  call  man,  it  ordinarily  makes  use  6f 
the  organs  of  the  body,  especially  of  the  animal  spirits, 
in  all  its  actions,  and  those  only  are  properly  called  human 
actions,  which  are  thus  performed  even  by  the  whole 
man,  which  therefore  cannot  but  depend  very  much  upon 
the  temper  of  the  body  that  concurs  to  the  performance 
of  them ;  as  we  find  by  daily  experience  they  do  ;  for  if 
our  bodies  be  out  of  tune,  so  are  our  minds  too.  If  any- 
thing affects  our  heads,  disturbs  our  brains,  and  so  disor- 
ders the  animal  spirits  which  the  soul  makes  use  of  in  its 
operations,  they  are  likewise  disorderly  and  irregular :  as 
in  music,  though  the  artist  be  never  so  skilful,  yet  if  his 
instrument  be  out  of  tune,  there  can  be  no  harmony  of 
melody  in  what  he  plays  upon  it.  Yea  none  of  us  but 
may  easily  observe,  that  whatsoever  humor  prevails  most 
in  the  body,  as  phlegm,  choler,  melancholy,  or  the  like, 
our  actions  are  usually  tainted  with  it,  insomuch  that  by 
them  we  may  discover  what  that  humor  is  which  is  most 
predominant :  from  whence  it  plainly  appears,  that  so 
long  as  the  soul  is  in  the  body,  although  it  was  designed 
to  rule  and  govern  it,  yet  it  is  apt  to  be  governed  by  it, 
and  to  humor  it  so  far  as  to  follow  not  its  own  reason 
and  judgment,  but  the  more  impetuous  inclinations  of  the 
sensitive  part,  although  it  be  to  its  ruin  and  destruction. 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  the  soul  is  the  proper  seat  of 
holiness,  and  yet,  so  long  as  it  is  in  the  body,  it  makes 
more  or  less  use  of  it  in  all  human  actions,  and  is  very 
apt  to  be  swayed  by  it ;  hence  it  necessarily  follows,  in 
the  third  place,  that  the  keeping  the  body  under  by  fast- 
ing, and  so  bringing  it  into  subjection  to  the  soul,  cannot 
but  conduce  very  much  to  the  exercise  of  all  true  holi- 
ness J  for  by  this  means  the  soul  being  kept  always  in  its 
throne,  with  full  power  and  authority  over  its  subjects, 
13 


27S  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FASTING. 

the  inferior  faculties  being  under  no  restraint,  its  reason- 
ings  would  be  clear,  its  judgments  sound,  its  counsels 
deliberate  ;  it  would  act  like  itself,  a  rational  and  spirit- 
ual substance,  and  so  would  be  as  free  from  all  sensual 
vices  as  when  separate  from  the  body,  which  inclines  it 
to  them  ;  and  then  it  will  begin  to  relish  spiritual  objects 
as  suitable  to  its  own  nature  ;  for  it  will  look  upon  vir- 
tue and  vice,  not  as  they  are  falsely  represented  by  the 
imagination,  coiTupted  with  the  humors  of  the  body, 
but  as  they  are  in  themselves,  and  so  discern  how  lovely 
and  amiable  the  former  is,  how  odious  and  detestable  the 
latter,  and  by  consequence  exerts  all  its  power  to  follow 
the  one  and  avoid  the  other. 

To  explain  this  more  fully  to  ordinary  capacities,  I 
might  descend  down  to  particulars,  and  show  how  keep- 
ing the  body  under,  by  fasting  and  abstinence,  does  of 
itself  conduce  to  the  mortifying  of  most  lusts,  and  to  the 
quickening  the  contrary  graces  in  us  ;  for  which  end  I 
need  not  instance  in  gluttony  and  drunkenness,  for  these 
being  directly  contrary,  yea  contradictory,  to  true  fast- 
ing ;  where  this  is  rightly  observed,  those  vices  must 
needs  cease  of  their  own  accord,  and  the  contrary  virtues 
of  temperance  and  sobriety  take  their  place  :  the  same 
maybe  said  of  luxury  anduncleanness,  for  that  proceed- 
ing only  from  too  great  a  plenitude  and  luxuriancy  of 
humors  in  the  body,  if  your  bodies  be  kept  under  as  they 
ought  to  be,  you  will  be  as  much  averse  from  such  sins 
as  ever  you  were  inclined  to  them. 

But  I  shall  chiefly  consider  some  other  vices,  which, 
at  first  sight,  may  seem  more  remote  to  our  present  pur- 
pose, as  not  depending  so  much  upon  the  temper  of  the 
body  ;  as,  for  example,  are  you  apt  to  be  angry  and  peev- 
ish, to  fret  and  to  be  disturbed  at  every  littJe  thing   that 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTINa.  279 

happens,  as  many  are  ?  This  commonly  proceeds  from 
immoderate  diet,  or  constantly  feeding  to  the  full,  which 
breeds  abundance  of  choler,  and  over-heats  the  animal 
spirits,  whereby  they  are  apt  to  take  fire,  and  be  inflamed 
at  everything  that  occurs  contrary  to  our  present  desires  j 
but  by  constant  abstinence  the  choler  would  be  abated, 
the  spirit  cooled,  and  so  the  mind  reduced  into  a  sedate, 
meek,  and  gentle  temper. 

Are  you  addicted  to  pride  ?  although  there  be  a  spirit- 
ual pride,  which  degenerate  souls  are  subject  to,  as  well 
as  fallen  angels,  yet  that  which  mostly  puffs  up  mankind 
with  vain  and  foolish  conceits  of  themselves,  usually 
springs  from  the  corruption  of  the  fancy,  caused  by  those 
malign  vapors,  which  by  reason  of  over  much  eating  are 
exhaled  from  the  stomach  into  the  head,  and  there  dis- 
turb the  imagination ;  but  fasting  prevents  the  very  en- 
gendering of  such  fumes,  and  by  consequence  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  fancy  by  them  ;  by  which  means  the  mind  is 
able  to  judge  of  things  as  they  are,  and  to  see  clearly  that 
we  neither  have  nor  can  have  anything  in  the  world  to 
be  proud  of,  but  many  things  to  be  humbled  for ;  and 
therefore .  the  keeping  the  body  under  is  certainly  the 
best  way  in  the  world  to  keep  the  mind  humble  and 
lowly. 

Are  you  inclined  to  covetousness  1  To  dote  upon  the 
toys  and  trifles  of  this  lower  world  ?  This  also  must  be 
ascribed  very  much  to  the  depraved  imagination,  repre- 
senting these  little  things  as  in  a  magnifying  glass,  and 
so  making  them  seem  to  be  what  really  they  are  not, 
great  and  amiable ;  and  therefore,  as  fasting  frees  the 
imagination  from  such  exhalations  as  corrupt  it,  so  it 
must  needs  help  to  the  mind's  looking  upon  things  as  it 
were  with  its  naked  eye,   and  so  passing  a  right  judg- 


280  THE    USEFULNESS  OF    FASTING. 

ment  upon  them,  by  which  means  it  is  soon  brought  t(y 
contemn  and  despise  the  world,  as  much  as  ever  it  ad- 
mired or  loved  it. 

Are  you  dull  and  heavy  at  your  devotions  j  not  able 
to  pray,  to  hear,  to  meditate,  or  serve  the  Lord  without 
distractions  ?  Whence  comes  that  dulness  ?  Whence 
these  distractions,  but  from  that  hurry  of  gross  vapors  in 
the  brain,  which  obstruct  its  passages,  and  crowd  about 
it  so  disorderly,  that  the  soul  cannot  without  much  time 
and  pains  rally  them  together,  and  reduce  them  to  such 
an  order  as  to  make  any  tolerable  use  of  them  ?  And 
therefore,  as  these  distractions  are  caused  by  over  much 
eating,  so  they  may  be  cured  by  fasting  :  hence  it  is  that 
none  of  you  but  may  find  by  experience  that  you  can 
never  perform  any  spiritual  exercise  with  that  life  and 
vigor,  that  cheerfulness  and  alacrity,  that  constant  pre- 
sence and  composure  of  mind,  as  when  your  bodies  are 
empty,  and  so  kept  under  as  to  be  in  a  due  subjection  to 
the  soul. 

I  might  instance  in  many  other  particulars,  from 
whence  to  show  how  fasting  doth  of  itself  conduce  much 
to  the  extirpation  of  most  vices,  aud  to  the  planting  and 
growth  of  true  virtue  and  goodness  in  us  ;  but  most 
others  depend  upon,  or  at  least  may  be  referred  to,  these 
already  mentioned,  therefore  there  is  the  same  reason  for 
them  as  there  is  for  those  ;  so  that  we  may  justly  con- 
clude this  with  a  remarkable  passage  of  St.  Hierome,  in 
his  Epistle  to  Celantio,  where,  speaking  of  the  very 
•words  of  my  text,  he  saith,  that  "  fasting  and  abstinence, 
Non  castitaliy  tantummodoj  sed  omnibus  omnino  virtutibus 
opitukitiiry  helps  not  only  to  chastity,  but  to  all  manner 
of  virtues  whatsoever." 

But  the  great  and  principal  reason  of  all  why  it  doth 


THE    USEFULNESS   OF    FASTING.  281 

SO  is  still  behind,  and  that  is,  because  that  fasting  is  so 
pleasing  and  acceptable  to  Almighty  God,  that  he  hath 
promised  a  blessing,  a  reward  to  it,  whensoever  it  is 
rightly  performed,  and  that  too,  not  by  the  mouth  of  a 
prophet,  an  apostle,  or  an  angel,  but  by  his  own  divine 
mouth  when  he  was  here  upon  earth ;  for  our  Lord  him- 
self saith,  "When  thou  fastest,  anoint  thine  head,  and 
wash  thy  face,  that  thou  appear  not  unto  men  to  fast,  but 
to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret :  and  thy  Father  which 
seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee  openly,"  Matt.  vi.  17, 
18.  From  whence  it  is  plain,  that  if  a  man  fast  not  out 
of  vain  ostentation,  to  be  seen  of  men  and  thought  holy, 
but  out  of  a  sincere  desire  to  keep  his  body  under,  and 
so  fit  himself  the  better  for  the  service  of  God,  that  man 
shall  certainly  be  rewarded  for  it :  but  what  reward  shall 
we  have  .?  Why,  God  will  bless  and  sanctify  it  to  the 
great  ends  and  purposes  for  which  it  is  designed.  Fast- 
ing, as  I  have  shown,  doth  conduce  much  to  our  being 
holy,  but  it  cannot  make  us  so ;  that  is  only  in  the  power 
of  God,  the  only  fountain  of  all  true  grace  and  holiness ; 
but  he  being  well  pleased  with  fasting,  where  it  is  duly 
observed,  doth  by  his  own  grace  and  Spirit  make  it  ef- 
fectual for  the  subduing  our  lusts,  and  for  our  perform- 
ance of  all  holy  and  good  works. 

For  our  better  understanding  of  this,  we  must  con- 
sider, that  although  God  can  work  with  means,  or  with- 
out means,  or  by  contrary  means,  as  he  himself  sees  good, 
yet  he  ordinarily  makes  use  of  the  most  fit  and  proper 
means  that  can  be  used  for  the  effecting  whatsoever  he 
designs  ;  and  it  is  presumption  in  us  to  expect  he  should 
do  otherwise.  But  fasting,  as  we  have  shown  already, 
is  a  very  fit  and  proper  mean,  as  of  itself  conducing 
much  to  a  holy  and  virtuous  life*;  and  therefore   they 


282  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTINa 

who  give  themselves  to  fasting  and  abstinence  as  they 
ought  to  do,  are  always  in  God's  way,  using  the  proper 
means  for  the  obtaininor  of  true  grace  and  virtue,  and  so 
need  not  doubt  but  he  will  bestow  it  upon  them  ;  whereas 
they  who  refuse  or  neglect  such  means,  have  no  more 
ground  to  expect  his  blessing  and  assistance,  than  ihey 
have  to  expect  he  should  work  miracles  for  them. 

And  besides  that,  although  the  most  high  God,  the 
chiefest,  the  only  good,  be  always  ready  and  free  to 
communicate  of  himself,  and  distribute  the  graces  of  his 
Holy  Sphit,  it  is  to  those  who  are  rightly  disposed  for 
the  receipt  of  them,.Avhose  bodies  are  fitted  and  pre- 
pared for  the  inhabitation  of  the  Spirit,  or,  as  the  apostle 
words  it,  to  he  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  cer- 
tainly no  bodies  are  so  fit  and  proper  for  so  divine,  so 
pure  a  guest,  as  those  which  by  fasting  and  abstinence 
are  kept  in  continual  subjection  to  the  soul ;  for  it  being 
the  soul  that  is  primarily  inspired  and  sanctified  by  the 
Spirit,  unless  the  body  be  subject  to  the  soul,  it  will  not 
be  subject  to  the  spirit  that  is  in  it,  but  the  flesh  will  lust 
against  the  Spirit,  Gal.  v.  17.  Whereas  if  the  body  be 
kept  clean  and  pure,  at  the  beck  of  the  soul,  always 
ready  and  willing  to  observe  its  commands,  then  the 
Spirit  that  enlightens,  actuates,  and  quickens  the  soul, 
will  with  great  facility  diffuse  its  influences  over  the 
whole  man,  so  as  to  sanctify  it  throughout :  for  then  the 
body  being  subject  to  the  soul,  and  the  soul  to  the 
Spirit ;  as  the  Spirit  is,  so  will  both  soul  and  body  be  in 
Iheir  capacities,  pure  and  holy. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  greatest  discoveries  that  God  hath 
made  of  himself  to  men,  and  the  most  powerful  eflfects  of 
the  Spirit  upon  them,  have  usually  been  when  they  were 
fasting,  and  so  in  &  right  disposition  for  them.     Thus 


THE    USEFUL-NESS    OF    FASTING.  283 

Moses  was  fasting  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  even  all 
the  while  that  he  conversed  with  God  upon  mount  Sinai, 
and  received  the  law  from  him,  Exod.  xxxiv.  Elias 
had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  when  God 
discoursed  so  familiarly  with  him  upon  mount  Horeb, 
1  Kings  xix.  Our  Lord  himself  also,  though  he  had 
no  need  of  it,  his  body  being  always  perfectly  subject  to 
his  soul  without  it,  yet  he  also  for  our  example  and  imi- 
tation fasted  f^rty  days  and  forty  nights,  even  all  the 
while  that  he  was  overcoming  the  devil,  and  had  the 
angels  to  minister  unto  him  in  the  wilderness,  Matt.  iv. 
Daniel  was  fasting  when  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  unto 
him,  to  acquaint  him  with  the  precise  time  of  the  Mes- 
siah's coming,  Dan.  ix.  The  disciples  at  Antioch  were 
fasting  when  the  Holy  Ghost  in  a  miraculous  manner 
spake  unto  them,  saying.  Separate  me  Saul  and  Barna- 
bas for  the  ivork  to  which  I  have  called  them,  Acts  xiii. 
To  name  no  more,  Cornelius,  by  whose  conversion  the 
door  of  salvation  was  opened  to  the  Gentiles,  was  also 
fasting  when  the  angel  was  sent  to  instruct  him  how  to 
get  to  heaven.  Acts  x.  30.  By  all  which  it  appears,  that 
when  men  are  fasting,  and  so  their  bodies  are  subject  to 
their  souls,  then  God  takes  the  opportunity  of  manifest- 
ing himself  and  his  will  and  pleasure  to  them,  and  also 
of  directing  and  assisting  them  in  the  way  to  bliss  ;  and 
by  consequence,  that  fasting  is  of  greater  moment  to  our 
being  holy,  than  it  is  commonl}^  thought  to  be. 

Nay,  after  all,  it  is  very  observable,  that  it  is  so  neces- 
sary to  our  being  holy,  that  we  can  never  be  perfectly 
holy,  until  we  fast  perpetually,  I  mean  in  heaven,  where 
our  bodies  shall  be  fashioned  like  unto  Christ\s  glorious 
body,  and  reduced  to  such  an  excellent  temper,  as  neither 
in  want  nor  desire  food  ;  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  our 


284     THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FASTING, 

bodies  be  brour^ht  into  perfect  subjection  to  our  souls, 
and  our  souls  to  God ;  so  that  instead  of  eating  and 
drinking,  we  shall  be  always  loving,  always  rejoicing, 
always  praising,  always  honoring  and  obeying  him  ;  and 
seeing  that  we  can  never  arrive  at  the  perfection  of  holi- 
ness, until  we  come  to  fasting  altogether,  we  cannot 
surely  but  from  thence  conclude,  that  fasting  must  needs 
contribute  much,  not  only  to  our  being,  as  near  as  we 
can,  like  to  the  saints  in  heaven,  but  llltewise  to  our 
coming  to  them ;  and  so,  that  the  Fathers  did  not  more 
commonly  than  truly  observe,  that  as  it  was  by  eating 
that  we  were  cast  out  of  Paradise,  so  it  is  by  fasting 
that  we  are  restored  to  it. 

Thus  I  have  briefly  touched  upon  some  of  those  many 
arguments  which  might  be  produced  to  demonstrate  the 
excellency  and  usefulness  of  fasting.  I  am  very  sensible 
that  this  will  seem  strange  doctrine  to  many  in  our  age, 
like  those  St.  Chrysostom  speaks  of,  who  Ttqoayj^iiaTt, 
TcAet^TT^Tog,  under  a  pretence  of  greater  light  and  perfec- 
tion, look  upon  themselves  as  far  above  so  low  a  dis- 
pensation as  this  is,  and  therefore  indulge  their  appetites, 
and  laugh  at  such  pitiful  mean  Christians  as  are  forced 
to  give  themselves  to  fasting  ;  and  I  fear  many  of  you  that 
hear  me  at  this  time  are  of  the  same  mind,  and  therefore 
think  that  fasting  perhaps  may  be  very  good  and  needful 
for  others,  but  not  at  all  for  themselves. 

But  what }  Are  you  not  commanded  to  fast  as  well 
as  pray  .''  And  how  come  you  to  be  disobliged  from  one 
duty  more  than  from  the  other  }  Did  not  Christ  himself  say, 
Luke  V.  34,  35,  that  when  he,  the  bridegroom,  ivas  taken 
from  them,  then  his  disciples  should  fast  7  And  are  not 
you  in  the  number  of  his  disciples  ?  Hath  not  he,  your 
Master,  taught  you  how  to  fast,  as  well  as  how  to  pray 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  285 

and  to  give  your  alms  ?  And  do  you  think  that  he  would 
teach  you  anything,  but  what  you  are  bound  to  do  r  Nay, 
are  you  not  therefore  bound  to  do  it,  because  he  hath 
taught  you  it  r  Did  he  not  himself  do  it?  Have  not 
all  the  saints  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and 
in  all  ages  ever  since,  given  themselves  to  fasting  ?  Did 
not  St.  Paul  himself  do  so  ?  And  do  you  think  your- 
selves more  pure,  more  holy,  more  perfect,  than  St.  Paul 
was  ? 

Men  and  brethren,  I  heartily  wish  that  every  soul  here 
present  was  so,  even  that  you  were  all  greater  saints, 
more  eminent  Christians,  than  that  great,  that  eminent 
apostle  himself  was  ;  that  you  were  all  so  free  from  vice, 
so  full  of  grace,  so  sure  of  heaven,  that  you  had  not  that 
occasion  as  he  had  to  keep  your  bodies  under,  lest  after 
all  you  be  cast-aways  I  That  you  had  all  got  that  perfect 
conquest  over  yourselves,  and  lusts,  as  never  more  to  be 
inclined  or  tempted  to  sin  or  vanity  ;  then  I  must  confess 
you  would  not  have  so  much  need  of  fasting  as  St.  Paul 
had,  and  therefore  might  be  better  excused  from  it  than 
he  was. 

But  I  beseech  you  not  to  flatter  yourselves  with  such 
groundless  conceits  as  these  are,  as  if  you  were  more 
holy  and  spiritual  than  St.  Paul  was.  Do  but  deal  faith- 
fully with  yourselves,  and  you  cannot  but  believe  that 
you  come  far  short  of  him  in  every  point,  in  your  love  to 
God,  in  your  faith  in  Christ,  in  your  zeal  for  the  Gospel, 
in  every  true  Christian  grace  and  virtue  whatsoever  ;  and 
therefore  you  must  needs  acknowledge,  that  if  he,  one  of 
the  strongest,  most  pious,  and  famous  Christians  that 
ever  lived  upon  the  face  of  the  earth ;  if  he,  I  say,  was 
forced  to  keep  his  body  under,  and  to  bring  it  into  sub- 
jection by  fasting,  lest  after  all  he  should  be  a  cast-away  ; 
13* 


286  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING. 

certainly  you  have  all  Ihe  reason  in  the  world  to  fear^ 
that  you  should  be  cast-avvays  indeed,  unless  you  do  so.  . 
Do  but  consider  these  things  seriously  and  1  am  con- 
fident you  will  not  blame,  but  thank  our  Church  for  put- 
ting you  in  mind  of  this  great  duty  ;  you  will  admire  her 
prudence,  and  commend  her  care  of  those  that  live  in  her 
communion,  in  that  she,  in  conformity  to  the  primitive 
and  universal  Church,  hath  appointerl  several  days  every 
year  for  the  performance  of  this  duty,  which  otherwise 
you  would  be  too  apt  to  forget ;  and  although  some  may 
think  them  too  many,  yet  the  greatest  part  of  Christians 
in  the  world  would  rather  judge  them  to  be  too  few  ; 
epecially  those  that  live  in  the  East,  for  they  observe 
many  more  ;  but  our  Church  in  this,  as  in  all  other 
thino-s,  keeps  still  in  the  mean  ;  and  therefore  besides  the 
nights  or  eves  before  some  holy-days,  she  hath  appointed 
for  days  of  fasting  or  abstinence  only  one  day  every  week, 
to  wit  Friday,  which  hath  alwaj^s  been  observed  in  the 
Church.  One  week  in  every  quarter,  viz.  Ember  week, 
in  hnitation  of  the  Apostles,  who  always  fasted  before 
they  ordained  any  to  the  ministry  :  and  lastly,  the  three 
Roo-ation  days,  and  this  great  fast  of  Lent  once  every 
year,  which  was  observed,  if  not  by  the  Apostles  them- 
selves, yet  at  least  by  apostolical  men,  or  those  that 
lived  in  the  very  next  ages  to  the  Apostles,  and  so  hath 
been  continued  as  a  time  of  fasting  by  all  Churches  in 
all  ao-es  and  places  ever  since  ;  which  questionless  would 
not  have  been,  had  not  Christians  all  along  found  extra- 
ordinary benefit  and  advantage  by  it ;  and  I  do  not  doubt 
in  the  least,  but  that  if  all  you  that  hear  me  at  this  time 
would  be  persuaded  to  observe  all  these  fasts  as  you 
out^ht  to  do,  you  M'ould  find  yourselves  other-guess 
Christians  at  the  year's  end,  than  you  are  now ;  for  sup- 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  287 

posing  you  to  be  always   temperate,  without  which  you 
deserve  not  to  be  called  Christians,  and  besides  that,  to  ob- 
serve these  several  fasts  as  they  recur ;  as  your  constant 
tem{3erance  would  keep  your  bodies  all  in  health,  so  your 
frequent  abstinence  would  kijep  them  always  under,  and 
bring  them  into  subjection  to  your  souls  :  by  which  means 
you  would   be  every  day  more  averse  from  your  former 
lust,  more  inclined   to  God  and  goodness,  more  capable 
of  his  divine  illuminations   and  assistances,  more  ready 
and  able  to  serve  God  here,  and  more  fit  to  go  to  heaven 
and  enjoy  him  for  ever. 

Now  these  things  being  duly  weighed,  you  cannot 
surely  but  look  upon  yourselves  as  concerned  in  interest 
as  w^ell  as  duty  to  fast ;  and  therefore  cannot  but  be  very 
solicitous  to  know  how  you  may  do  it  aright,  even  so  as 
to  make  it  effectual  to  the  purposes  aforesaid ;  which 
therefore  I  siiall  endeavor  to  resoh^e  you  in  as  briefly  as 
I  can  :  for  which  end  we  must  first  know  in  general,  that 
there  can  be  no  certain  rules  laid  down  as  necessary  to 
be  observed  by  all  men  in  this  case  ;  for  some  require 
more  fasting,  some  less,  some  none  at  all,  even  such  as 
are  weak  and  sickly,  for  to  them  their  sickness  supplies 
the  use  of  fasting,  in  keeping  their  bodies  under:  hence 
it  is  that  we  commonly  see  sickly  people  have  a  deeper 
sense  of  God  and  religion  than  others,  because  their 
bodies,  by  reason  of  their  often  infirmities,  are  constantly 
kept  in  subjection  to  their  souls  ;  and  they  also  who  are 
of  strong  and  healthful  constitutions,  are  not  bound  to 
abstain  for  any  long  time  from  any  manner  of  food,  but 
only  from  such  both  for  quantity  and  quality,  as  is  apt  to 
pamper  the  body,  and'  to  make  it  rebel  against  the  soul ; 
and  if  we  do  but  attain  the  end  of  fasting,  even  to  keep 
our  bodies  under,  and   bring  them  into  subjection  to  the 


288  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTlKG. 

soul,  we  need  not,  we  ought  not  to  be  too  scrupulous 
about  other  thinos. 

o 

This  being  premised  in  general,  I  think  it  is  not  amiss 
to  mind  you  of  some  particular  rules  which  I  think  ne- 
cessary to  be  observed,  in  order  to  the  attaining  our  ends 
in  fasting. 

First,  make  no  distinction  at  such  times  betv/ixt  flesh 
and  fish,  as  the  papists  do,  who  if  they  do  but  abstain 
from  flesh,  and  what  proceeds  from  it,  think  they  fast 
sufficiently,  how  much  soever  they  eat  or  drink  of  other 
things ;  but  neither  the  Scriptures  nor  the  primitive 
Church  ever  observed  any  such  distinction,  neither  doth 
it  consist  with  the  nature  and  end  of  fasting  ;  but  the  old 
catholic  way  was,  that  when  they  fasted  they  abstained 
from  all  manner  of  food  until  the  evening,  and  still  ob- 
served Daniel's  rule,  who  when  he  fasted  eat  no  pleasant 
or  desirable /oof/,  neither  did  fesh  nor  wine  come  into  his 
mouth,  Dan.  x.  3.  This  the  primitive  Christians  observed 
very  strictly,  that  when  they  fasted  they  ate  neither 
more  nor  better  food  than,  as  we  use  to  say,  to  keep  soul 
and  body  together  ;  and  as  for  wine,  they  would  not  so 
much  as  touch  it ;  which,  I  think,  is  still  necessary  to  be 
observed  by  all  that  would  fast  to  any  purpose. 

2.  Have  a  care  of  those  superstitious  ends  which 
the  papists  propound  to  themselves  in  fasting,  who  think 
they  worship  God  by  it,  and  that  they  thereby  make  him 
satisfaction  for  their  former  sins,  and  merit  his  grace  and 
favor  for  the  future ;  but  you,  when  you  fast,  do  it  only 
for  that  end  which  the  apostle  here  mentions  in  my  text, 
even  to  keep  your  bcd'es  under,  cud  to  Irlng  tlum  hio 
subjection  to  your  souls,  that  so  you  may  not  at  the  lest  be 
cast-aways. 

3.  Have  a  care  of   falling    into    the  other  extreme, 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  289 

even  of  fasting  too  much,  as  well  as  too  little ;  for,  as 
St.  Chrysostom  observes  from  my  text,  the  apostle  kept 
his  body  under,  but  he  did  not  kill  it ;  he  brought  it 
into  subjection,  but  not  to  destruction  ;  he  used  it  as  a 
servant,  not  as  an  enemy,  and  therefore  would  not  starve 
it,  for  then  he  could  expect  no  further  service  from  it.  Yea, 
it  is  St.  Basil's  observation  upon  these  words,  that  they  who 
fast  too  much,  and  so  weaken  and  distemper  their  bodies, 
violate  the  apostle's  rule  ;  for  he  by  fasting  brought  his 
body  into  subjection  to  his  soul ;  they  fast  so  as  to  bring  their 
souls  into  subjection  to  their  bodies,  forcing  them  to  spend 
their  time  in  looking  after  their  bodies,  and  serving  them 
instead  of  being  served  by  them.  Hence  the  same  apostle 
elsewhere  commands  us,  not  simply  to  make  no  provision 
for  thefiesh^  but  not  so,  as  to  fulfil  the  lusts  iherecf,  Rom. 
xiii.  14.  I  suppose  there  are  not  many  that  need  this  cau- 
tion, but  there  are  some,  and  therefore  I  durst  not  omit  it. 

4.  To  your  fasting  always  join  prayer ;  these  two 
frequently  go  together  in  Scripture,  and  ought  not  to  be 
separated  by  us,  for  they  strongly  excite  and  quicken  one 
another,  insomuch  that  our  Lord  himself  tells  us,  there 
are  some  kind  of  devils  that  cannot  be  cast  out  but  by 
prayer  and  fasting ^  Matt.  xvii.  21.  Some  may  be  cast 
out  by  one,  some  by  the  other,  some  by  neither  alone  ; 
but  there  is  no  devil  so  powerful  but  he  may  be  expelled, 
no  sin  so  strong  but  it  may  be  subdued,  by  both  together ; 
and  therefore  when  you  fast,  spend  more  time  than  ordi- 
nary in  your  private  devotions,  at  least  as  much  as  you 
use  to  spend  upon  other  days  in  eating,  by  which  means 
you  will  lose  no  time  from  your  particular,  but  gain 
much  for  your  general,  calling. 

5.  To  fasting  and  prayer  add  alms  also,  for  these  three 
Christ  joined  together  in  his  preaching,  Matt.  vi.     And 


290  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING. 

Cornelius  in  his  practice,  Acts  x.  And  so  must  we  too. 
Insomuch  that  the  ancients  scarce  ever  speak  of  fasting, 
but  they  prescribe  this  as  necessary  to  the  due  perform- 
ance of  it ;  and  the  general  rule  they  lay  down  for  it  is 
this,  that  what  you  save  by  fasting  yourselves,  you 
must  give  away  to  the  relief  of  others  ;  by  which  means, 
without  either  the  loss  of  time,  or  the  impairing  your 
estates,  you  may  perform  the  three  great  duties  of  the 
Gospel,  fast,  and  pray,  and  give  alms  ;  which  even  sev- 
erally are  very  acceptable  to  Almighty  God,  much  more 
when  they  go  together. 

Lastly,  when  you  have  performed  this  duty  as  exactly 
as  you  can,  have  a  care  lest  you  place  any  confidence 
in  it,  but  trust,  on  Christ  and  him  alone,  to  bless  and 
sanctify  it  to  the  great  ends  for  which  you  use  it ;  for 
Christ  himself  hath  told  you,  that  without  him  you  can  do 
nothing^  John  xv.  5.  But  by  him  there  is  nothing  but 
you  may  do,  as  St.  Paul  long  a  ;o  experienced  ;  saying, 
I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  that  si  enjthenelh  7we, 
Phil.  vi.  13.  And  therefore  whensoever  you  fast,  as  you 
must  pray  to  God,  so  you  must  trust  in  Christ  for  his 
assistance  of  you,  and  then  you  need  not  fear  but  it  shall 
most  effectually  conduce  to  the  ke'j.ing your  bodies  under , 
and  the  bringing  them  into  subjection^  so  that  you  shall  not 
he  cast-aways^  bW  h(  ppy  for  ever.  These  are  the  rules 
which  I  judge  necessary  to  be  observed  in  fasting;  and 
therefore  whensoever  I  speak  of  fasting,  I  desire  to  be 
understood  of  fasting  according  to  those  rules,  and  no 
otherwise. 

Thus  now  I  have  done  my  duty,  in  acquainting  you 
with  yours.  What  effect  a  sermon  of  this  nature  will 
have  upon  you,  1  know  not,  but  fear  it  will  meet  with 
the  same  fate  that  sermons  now-a-days  use  to  do ;  some 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  291 

will  like  one  thing,  some  another,  some  nothing  at  all  in 
it,  but  dislike  and  censure  the  whole  ;  and  such  will  be 
so  far  from  resolving  to  practise  what  they  have  heard, 
that  they  are  resolved  already  not  to  practise  it ;  and 
such  may  now  go  out  of  the  church,  for  1  have  no  more 
to  say  unto  them,  but  only  this,  that  this  sermon  will  one 
day  rise  up  in  judgment  against  them,  and  then  they  will 
wish  they  had  observed  it  better,  when  it  is  too  late : 
but  as  for  such  amongst  you,  as  seriously  mind  the  con- 
cerns of  another  life,  I  have  a  few  more  words  to  speak 
to  you,  which  I  desire  you  to  hear  with  patience  and  at- 
tenti3n. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord,  you  cannot  but  all  ascribe  it  to 
the  infinite  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  most  high  God, 
that  you  are  still  alive,  and  not  in  hell,  but  in  a  capacity 
as  yet  of  getting  to  heaven,  whither,  I  suppose,  you  all 
desire  to  go  when  you  die  :  but  heaven,  you  know,  is  a 
place  where  but  few  come,  nor  indeed  any  but  real  and 
true  saints  ;  and  therefore  as  ever  you  desire  to  go  thither 
when  you  die,  you  must  while  you  live  be  sanctified 
wholly,  you  must  mortify  all  your  lusts,  and  subdue  your 
passions,  you  must  love  and  fear  God  above  all  things, 
you  must  serve,  honor,  and  obey  him  with  a  perfect 
heart  and  a  willing  mind,  and  do  all  such  good  works  as 
he  hath  prepared  for  you  to  walk  in,  which  being  no  easy 
matter  to  do,  you  must  lose  no  time,  spare  no  costs,  neg- 
lect no  means  that  may  be  any  way  helpful  to  you  in  it ; 
especially  you  must  be  sure  to  take  St.  Paul's  course, 
you  must  keep  your  todies  vnier,  ard  bring  them  into 
subjection.,  otherwise  you  can  expect  r.o  other  lut  to  be  cast- 
aways  and  undone  for  ever. 

Hence,  therefore,  I  beseech  you  as  your  friend,  I  ad- 
vise and  exhort  you  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  as  you  tender 


292  THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING. 

your  eternal  salvation  by  him,  that  you  would  now  set 
upon  this  work,  this  great  work,  so  long  neglected  by 
you,  even  upon  fasting,  not  after  a  careless,  customary, 
or  hypocritical  manner,  but  in  good  earnest,  so  as  that  it 
may  be  effectual  to  the  keeping  of  your  bodies  in  con- 
tinual subjection  to  your  souls  ;  for  which  end,  I  suppose, 
the   strict  observation  of  the  days    prescribed    by  our 
Church  may  be  sufficient  for  most  people  ;  but  if  any 
of  you  find  that  that  will    not  do  your  business,  fast 
oftener,  but  still  observing  the  rules  laid  down  before, 
and  never  leave  off  till  you  have  brought  your  bodies 
to  such  a  temper,  as  no  way  to  obstruct  your  passage 
to  heaven,  till    you    have  mortified  all    your  members 
that  are  upon  the  earth ;  till  you  find  no  sin  reigning 
in  your  mortal  bodies,  so  as  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof; 
for  till  then  you  may  be  sure  you  have  not  fasted  enough, 
or   at  least  not    aright ;    for  God  is  so  ready  to  assist 
the  constant  and  conscientious  performance  of  this  duty 
according  to  the  aforesaid  rules,  that  no  sin,  no  devil, 
is  able  to  withstand  it. 

And  do  not  say  or  think  within  yourselves,  that  this 
is  an  hard  work,  who  can  bear  it?  for  if  you  cannot 
deny  yourselves  a  meaPs  meat,  or  a  little  wine  now 
and  then,  for  Christ's  sake,  how  is  it  possible  for  you 
to  deny  yourselves  anything  at  all  for  him?  And  then 
with  what  face  can  you  call  yourselves  his  disciples, 
when  you  have  not  so  much  as  learnt  the  first  part  of 
the  first  lesson  that  he  hath  taught  all  those  that  come 
to  him,  even  self-denial  ?  And  besides,  how  hard  soever 
this  duty  may  seem  at  first,  by  custom  it  will  soon  grow 
easy ;  when  you  have  been  once  used  to  it  for  a  while, 
you  will  find  that  comfort  and  satisfaction  in  it,  and 
reap  that  spiritual  benefit  and   advantage  from  it,  that 


THE    USEFULNESS    OF    FASTING.  293 

not  only  itself,  but  all  other  duties  will  be  both  easy 
and  pleasant  to  you. 

How  happy,  therefore,  should  I  think  myself,  would  it 
please  Almighty  God  to  make  me  an  instrument  in  his 
hand,  to  persuade  all  you  that  hear  me  at  this  time  to  the 
diligent  performance  of  this  duty  ?  For  how  happy 
than  should  we  all  be  ?  Then  our  minds,  being  no  way 
disturbed  by  our  bodies,  would  be  always  kept  in  so 
fine,  so  delicate  a  temper,  that  we  should  think  ourselves 
in  another  world ;  then  we  should  despise  the  pleasures 
of  this  world,  and  leave  them  for  brute  beasts,  and  such 
men  as  live  as  if  they  were  all  body  and  no  soul ;  then 
we  should  not  be  affrighted  at  the  reproach  of  any  evil, 
as  knowing  that  all  things  shall  work  together  for  our 
good ;  nay,  death  itself  would  then  be  no  terror  to  us, 
for  we  should  not  fear,  but  desire  to  be  dissolved  and  to 
be  with  Christ. 

And  when  that  blessed  time  shall  once  come,  being 
freed  from  these  lumps  of  clay,  which  now  put  us  to 
all  this  trouble,  we  shall  be  made  like  to  the  glorious 
angels  themselves,  and  then  we  shall  never  be  troubled 
with  eating  or  drinking  more,  but  yet  shall  feast  con- 
tinually upon  glory,  goodness,  all-sufficiency,  pleasure 
itself;  always  enjoying,  praising,  adoring,  and  magnifying 
the  eternal  God,  and  our  dear  and  ever-blessed  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  purchased  this  grace  and  glory 
for  us  :  to  whom,  therefore,  with  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  three  Persons,  one  glorious  and  eternal  God, 
be  all  honor,  praise,  and  glory,  from  this  time  forth  and 
for  evermore.     Amen. 


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